Today at the feeder (1 Viewer)

[weather]

Hey all,

I had a beautiful Yellow-rumped Warbler at the small pond... well...puddle today. I still have Dark-eyed Juncos all over the place. I thought they should have left by now? All this activity has attracted a Cooper's hawk again. He hasn't come down in the backyard yet, but he's perched in a tree waiting for the right moment. Last year he was chased away by a murder of Crows. I don't hear or see the Crows this year.

Mike

 

[snowyowl]

Purple Finches are at the feeder this morning and late yesterday a couple of female Pine Siskins showed up. These are the first sislins that I've had since a single one in the early winter.

 

[weather]

A white-throated Sparrow was under my feeder today. Along with Rock Dove, N. Cardinal, 1 Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch. The Cooper's Hawk seems to have moved on....

Mike

 

[bluesboy]

If the river was whisky, and I was a diving duck... I'd dive to the bottom lord I'd never come up.


M. Morganfield

 

[snowyowl]

If the river was whisky, and I was a diving duck... I'd dive to the bottom lord I'd never come up.


M. Morganfield

When Tex Ritter sang it, it was > If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck, I'd dive to the bottom and never come up. Rye Whiskey, Rye Whiskey, if I don't get Rye Whiskey, I'll live till I die.<

 

[amasara]

Watch out up north - my rosebreasted g.beak has left - dumb bird - you'd think 10+ feeders would entice him to stay! Enjoy him, whereever he lands.... BUT he's been replaced by my regular - oriole seen in his sycamore tree! They nest there every year but are gone by July! Tree swallows have won the battle for the martin house and are starting to build nests. Thought starlings were the agressors? Had to herd Mr. C. Wren out of my porch Sat. - left the door open while repairing screen. He flew in looking for food for his brood and got quite confused - I must have 100 birdhouses hanging and sitting on ledges!! He didn't seem too upset by my presence, so I quietly shooed him to the door and out! They are nosey birds!

 

[Celeste]

Yellow rumps in the tree tops with beautiful breeding plumage, a great blue stopped by to rest on my tulip tree, mrs. carolina wren is really sitting tight on those eggs, phoebes are trying to nest under my deck but my Yorkie keeps scratching on the deck right above them and barking at them through the cracks-what a pest!

 

[Dingoblu]

Have had the usual cardinals, blue jays, grackles, starlings, redpolls, mourning doves, red wing blackbirds and what I think may be a cerulean warbler?? Also my little downy woodpecker who will be happy with the fresh suet :bounce:

Had a flock of cedar waxwings spend about a half hour raiding my crabapple tree the other day. Got a few pics... here is one that is kind of soft, but shows the color on his tail fairly well.

 

[marianna]

Congratulations on your 'carolina on the nest', Celeste! That's really great.....and they are just the CUTEST babies when they fledge!

There's a wood thrush outside my door! I am so thrilled....used to have some every year, but last year there was not a peep (that I heard, anyway!)....she/he sat on the back step for several minutes....long enough for me to be sure she was a wood thrush! Wow! Now as the sun is going down, she is singing in the woods..happy day!

Have a pair of catbirds who are eating regularly from a hanging suet feeder....it hangs above a feeder with a roof, so they sit on the roof and eat away. There was also a robin on it this morning, also eating suet! Never have seen that before.

There are at least two male and one female red-breasted grosbeaks coming to the feeders. House wrens are singing and shoving sticks in the wren houses (except for the one that is full of house sparrows)....still have a pine siskin and several white throated and white crowned sparrows.

And two male ruby throated hummingbirds.

Life is good! )

 

[Dingoblu]

Here is another Cedar waxwing pic that shows a bit more of the birds characteristics

 

[Dingoblu]

This is my very shy cardinal... didn't see his mate with him this trip. He is hard to get a shot of, will fly away at movement in the windows even.

 

[amasara]

Great pics of cedars - showing both colors of wax! I had a flock one winter but not the right camera. Didn't know that they like crabapples - hope my little one lures them in again!

 

[Larry Lade]

Hi Dingoblu,

I took a look at your waxwing pictures and noticed that they were one of the birds that I most want to see here in the US. Both pictures you posted are of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. Notice the white, yellow and red in the wings. Also the second picture shows the rufous under tail coverts which the Bohemian has, and the Cedar Waxwing does not. Thanks for the posting!

 

[Dingoblu]

Larry thanks for the correction on the waxwings... I'm fairly new to birding and when I see something new I try to find it on enature so I can have a name for it.

This is the second year I've had them in the spring, they love the crabapples and the berries on the mountain ash tree as well.

 

[Dingoblu]

I'm somewhat confused now... I went back and looked up Bohemian Waxwings and it had no reference to the red and yellow on the feather tips. Here is the pic they had of the Cedars

Here is the image of the Bohemian

I just want to make sure I have a proper ID on these birds... anyone have any input?

 

[Larry Lade]

If I may be so bold....

I checked your photos again. I still believe they are BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS (BOWA). The Bohemian is grayer overall compared to the "brownish" Cedar Waxwing (CEDW). the belly and flanks are light grayish on BOWA and "yellowish" brown on the CEDW. BOWA is a larger, plumper bird than the CEDW. CEDW has no yellow in the wings which your first photo definitely shows and the rufous undertail coverts shown on your second photo is a "clincher", I believe, for BOWA. This last item is a definitive characteristic for BOWA. If you have access to either of these field guides, you might check:

page 423 of Sibley's "Guide to Birds"
or
page 364 of "National Geographic Birds of North America"

P.S. I just did a Google image search for "Bohemian Waxwing". There is quite a selection there for both the Bohemian and the Cedar Waxwings. You may want to take a look at these also.

 

[weather]

Last night our Screech Owls came back. We haven't seen them for about 3 months now. We hope they will use the nesting box this winter.

Mike

 

[Larry Lade]

I thought perhaps there would be some input from across the pond on the photos of these birds. Did you guys and gals see the post?

 

[Charles Harper]

Yes, Bohemian Waxwings-- with the white and yellow in the primaries; Cedar Waxwings have plain wings. Here in Japan I finally ticked the last of the family, Japanese Waxwing, last year. It has a red tail tip and a red wing bar. Now I have seen the whole family!

 

[Rasmus Boegh]

After the request by Larry Lade, I'll post this thread even though I can't really see what there is to add. The post's by Larry Lade & Charles Harper say it clearly. Wing pattern identifies bird(s) on threads 348 & 350 as an obvious Bohemian Waxwing, not Cedar. General colouration can be a somewhat hard feature to use, unless experianced with at least one of the two species. Can't really add anything new to the subject (it's already covered fully)! - And, wahuu! I've seen the three species of waxwings aswell, and what a pleasure they are to watch

Have a look at the following two links that show wing-pattern clearly:

First a Bohemian Waxwing:
http://animals.timduru.org/dirlist/bird/AwhatBird03-Bohemian_Waxwing-Perching_on_branch-BackView.jpg

...then a Cedar:
http://www.discoverlifeinamerica.or...bombycillidae/cedar_waxwing/Cedar_Waxwing.jpg