Redpolls and Cedar Waxwings

Saturday morning I noticed some cedar waxwings in the apple tree. Their color was much more vibrant than I have seen before.

For two years I had very large flocks of Bohemian Waxwings but last winter and so far this winter I have not seen even one.

I guess they are being replaced by Common Redpolls this year. This is the first year I have ever seen a Common Redpoll. First there were three in the pear tree this past Saturday and today, Wednesday, I am seeing so many I can't count but if I had to guess, I would say close to a hundred. They are at the feeders, in the trees, in the lilac bush, on the side of the road. They go through an eating frenzy and then go away for awhile, returning to go through the frenzy again. We are having a major snow storm today and there seem to be more redpolls than on previous days. On past days I have noticed they only eat from the feeder with the shelled sunflower seeds but today they are eating from all of the feeders, including the thistle feeder and the suet feeder. I guess they need more food to get through the cold and stormy weather.

I tried to upload a video here but it never uploaded.

Enjoy!!!!

Bohemians, 1 Cedar and 1 Robin in the Bunch

I so enjoyed watching and listening to the Bohemian Waxwings again this year. I tried to get outside each time they showed up. Sometimes I would take pictures and others I would just go and watch them and listen to them. Usually I would hear them before I would see them. They seemed to come in smaller groups of about 30 or 50 or even more. By the time all the groups were at the tree there were sometimes close to 200. I was amazed. There was usually one robin in the mix. I was pretty shocked to see a robin in the middle of winter. One day there was one cedar waxwing.

The Bohemians and the Cedars are both waxwings but look so different. The Cedar with his yellow and white underbellie and tail really stood out amongst all those Bohemians with their silvery bellies and bright red under their tails. I have a few pictures to share and a video I took of the waxwiongs one cold afternoon. It was very windy that day and there are parts of the video where the wind is a bit noisy. Sorry about that. I was able to finally video them eating at the apple tree so be patient and you will see how they go to the tree in small groups. Please understand that although I love bird watching I am very afraid of birds and for me to stand out there with probably over 100 birds is a miracle in itself.

The Bohemian Waxwings have been gone now for over a week. I hope they come back next year. I will probably see some Cedar Waxwings this summer when the berries are blooming. There was a small flock here last summer. Happy birding!