Welcome to December!! This week I want to share some images of Bohemian waxwings that I caught around the corner from my house a few weeks ago. I saw a bunch of dark blobs in a tree a few blocks over when I looked out my window and wondered if they were waxwings. I passed right by the spot where they were flittering about on my way to get a coffee so I pulled over and grabbed my camera.
The birds were busy snacking on the shrivelled chokecherries. Nearby, a feeder and some sunflowers enticed a flock of house sparrows. There was also a pair of ravens keeping an eye on everything by soaring back and forth across the street. It was a busy birding spot for sure!
In the summertime, we have Cedar waxwings trilling from the treetops and at some point during migration, they morph into Bohemian waxwings. Not literally but it sometimes feel like it! Bohemian waxwings are mostly grey with a rusty “face” and undertail. Waxwings have red, waxy tips on some of their wing feathers and yellow tips on the tail. The colour comes from carotenoid pigments found in the fruit waxwings eat. As the birds get older, the waxy tips get bigger.
Cedar waxwings on the other hand, have a dark grey back, yellow underbelly and are much more rusty coloured around the head. Interestingly, there are only 3 species of waxwings in the world, two of which live and breed in Canada. Bohemian Waxwings, unlike many songbirds, do not hold breeding territories, and they also don’t have a true song.
During the non-breeding season these birds can be found around nearly any type of berry – Chokecherry, Russian olive, Mountain ash, and even raspberries. I hope you have a chance to enjoy these birds in your area this winter and watch for the cedar waxwings arrival in spring!