Blog de Puree

It was a beautiful Thursday so my wife, son and I went for a picnic at Atkinson Common in Newburyport, Mass. The sun was out, there was a hint of a summer breeze, the clouds seemed to be avoiding our section of sky and flitting amongst the evergreen and viburnum trees was a small, active “ear-full” or “museum” of four Cedar Waxwings.

A Cedar Waxwing.
(Image by Eric Carr via his blog at eric-carr-photography.blogspot.com)

According to my new “Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America” (Thanks Mom and Dad!), these waxwings are common, but irregular visitors to areas where fruit and other food such as tree buds, flowers and insects are found. (I believe this means they will show up, but you can’t count on them to visit regularly.) So, it was quite a treat to see them. They are fascinating looking birds.

The Waxwings also have a unique call, very unlike most other native birds to the area. It’s a high, thin, and slightly trilled scree. It’s rather delicate sounding, actually. Have a listen at WhatBird.com. You’d think a bird that looks like it’s wearing the mask of a thief would have a more substantial call.

I’m also a bit proud of identifying this one in the field, as it were, without the aid of bird guide. At first I saw the gray of its wings and back, and the little tuft on its head and thought it was a Tufted Titmouse. Then I noticed the yellow tip on its tail and knew it was something else. I was lucky that two of them flew into the tree that my family and I were picnicking under and I was able to get a closer look. That was when I saw the tell-tale black mask and yellow tail tip, and knew that it was a Waxwing. And low and behold, the tree we were picnicking under was, in fact, a Viburnum tree—chock full of berries—a Cedar Waxwing favorite.

Addendum: I’ve updated my past post about descriptive bird groups to include “ear-full” and “museum” for a flock of Waxwings. Anyone interested in a fun and “correct” way to describe groups of birds should check it out. And if you know of others, please leave a comment!