CEDAR WAXWINGS - Okotoks, Alberta
By Eleanor Talley
| LGCF Birds & Butterflies |
CEDAR WAXWINGS - Okotoks, Alberta
By Eleanor Talley
| Waxwings are named for the red tips on the secondary wing feathers. This bird can be found from Southeast Alaska, Canada to south-central U. S. It winters from Southern Canada to Panama. It usually begins migration in October, and the southern United States can have a heavy population by the end of November. Many of us do not notice these birds until they come to our yards to feast on holly berries in the spring. They beGIN leaving our area in May. They look as though they are wearing sleek, cinnamon-brown silk, as though nothing ever ruffles their tail feathers, or their topknots either. They are a very debonair bird in appearance. They wear the waxy red tips on their wings as though they were precious jewels. A bright yellow trim on the end of gray black tail adds more interest to their beautiful costume of feathers. It is a bird of about seven inches in length and is a very social bird traveling in large flocks in the non-breeding season and may even nest in loose colonies. Both sexes help to build nests of sticks, mosses, and grass, lined with fine grass, moss, rootlets, hair and pine needles on limbs or in forks of both conifer or deciduous trees anywhere from six to sixty feet above the ground. Fledgling of any given flock will form flocks of their own. The older birds will begin migration earlier and the younger flocks will begin their travels later, staying behind to mature more before taking on a long journey. Characteristically, a flock will all land in a tree or on a wire all facing in the same direction. It has often been observed passing a piece of fruit back and forth, beak to beak, until one of the flock decides to eat the fruit. They eat fruit, flower petals, insects and will drink sap. In our area they are seen in spring eating holly berries. An average flock and can strip a tree in a morning. To attract these wonderful creatures try planting shrubs and trees that bear berries. Some have reported success with raisins and berries near birdbaths. |