UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

It's been a fun weekend here, the Mistress's schedule is still going like a locomotive. Im still recovering from New York, then I was in Philadelphia this weekend for the Fabulous Fashion exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and a visit to Strawberry Mansion and Lemon Hill. Before departing, I did get to see two of my favorite guest....the Nuthatch.

To me these guy are so fast and funny. They will weasel their way in to get seed, and then fly to the tree to hide it in pieces of bark for later in the winter. They sort of stock pile like squirrels do. They often don't stay on the sill long, but they are clowns.And if you have heard them, they sound like they are laughing like a hyena.

I also like the Red Bellied Woodpecker

Now if other birds feed on the sill, except maybe the Blue Jay, he will nub them in the butt to get his share. Some think their mean, I see him as Sally Brown. "All I want is what's coming to me, all I want is my fair share."

 But then this week I thought I saw a unusual suspect. On the sill Friday, I thought what I saw was a female cardinal, and paid no mind. But upon walking Buster before heading to Philly, my neighbor Ann, a dear soul and birder, who I ran into informed me we have wax wings. She said go near the woods, their everywhere. Sure enough she has been feeding them and putting fruit out for them.

 She noticed them two weeks ago, This is typical behavior for Cedar waxwings, flighty and nomadic as they cover lots of area looking for their favorite foods, berries. They never seem to stay in one place very long for what I understand. They can occur in large flocks, so they can deplete a food source quickly, hence the need for constant movement.

Upon further research I found out don’t expect them to check out your feeders. Cedar waxwings won’t take conventional feeder fare such as seed and suet, and it’s not possible to supply the number of berries and fruit required to keep them around. You can attract them, though, by planting fruit-bearing native trees such as dogwood, red cedar, hawthorn and native hollies, hence why they must like our woods here. To be successful in bringing them in for a close look, however, keep a fresh supply of water available. Water, especially in really cold weather, is like a cedar waxwing magnet. They literally swarm around the source, usually in the company of American robins, their most common traveling partners. We do have a pretty nice stream running through the woods also. Ann has placed a terra cotta platter with fruit on a stump, which they seem to be enjoying.

Cedar waxwings are truly beautiful birds. A feather is never out of place. So Ann and I plan to enjoy them while they last here.