...but I had an encounter with this bird in Prospect Park while I was talking with a neighbor, near the lake.
I had never seen it before. Significant markings include bright yellow tips on its tail feathers, a bright red patch on its wing, and a super hero black mask on its face. Yellowish-ochre underbelly and reddish-ochre head with gray, black and white elsewhere. It was flitting around the tree we were standing under, I then noticed at least three others follow it to the tree. Photographing this bird with my little Canon A80 was nearly impossible -no significant zoom, and, well, birds keep moving.
I got enough shots, and the markings were memorable, that I could look it up in my handy Audubon Society Nature Guide -Eastern Forests. Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedorum, summers and winters in our area and is common to most of temperate North America. They love berries, like park settings, and enjoy fresh water. Look for it in trees near you.
I got enough shots, and the markings were memorable, that I could look it up in my handy Audubon Society Nature Guide -Eastern Forests. Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedorum, summers and winters in our area and is common to most of temperate North America. They love berries, like park settings, and enjoy fresh water. Look for it in trees near you.
I once saw a holly tree with red berries covered in a whole flock of them, in DC. It was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI read they travel in groups, sometimes passing berries amongst themselves.
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