Still Red...

An early post for me, but I feel like this is "the one" for today. It's not a perfect photo, but I love it and it will serve to remind me of the day if I look at it years from now. And isn't that what a photo journal is all about?

This is a cropped photo of just the wings and tail of a Cedar Waxwing. What appeals to me about this is that you can clearly see the "wax" wingtips for which this beautiful bird is named. This is actually a bright red waxy coating on their secondary feathers, and only appears on adult birds. It is believed that females of the species prefer a male with more red on their wings; but beyond that, scientists have not determined any purpose for this odd feature. They eat primarily fruit and berries in the winter months, and consume insects when they are raising nestlings. Like the American Robin, waxwings are not true migrators, but are rather "nomadic" birds that travel in large foraging flocks in search of winter feeding grounds.

Seeing cedar waxwings is always a bit of a thrill for me. A moderate sized flock came into the yard today and descended on the bird baths for drinks - I took this shot from a distance of about 25 feet, crouched on the deck, trying not to startle them while they drank. Their thin, whispery whistles filled the air and the flash of yellow from their undersides lit up the yard. Yep, it was a little bit of magic.

I posted five other pictures starting HERE on Flickr (woodpecker, blue jay, titmouse and a couple of other waxwing shots). It will be my luck that a bear will show up later today, since I am blipping early. If so, I'll be back with a link...

It's Friday, people - hope you've got something special planned for the weekend!

xoxo,
Debbi