Cedar Waxwings have an appetite

Jun 12, 2018 @ 11:14

The crabapples are in bloom! Although they bloom only for a few days, then drop their petals – crabapples are beautiful.

 

That also means that the cedar waxwings are waiting, anxiously for that 2-3 day buffet of all you can eat, while you can! Friday, the waxwings were eating the white crabapple blossoms from a nearby tree. Saturday and Sunday they descended in a huge flock to devour the pink ones from next door. They were so hungry, they were eating the petals before the blooms had opened fully.

 

It was a tossup as to what was prettier, all the waxwings or the budding flowers?

This year, it had to be the birds, with their yellow-tipped tails, and red lacquered wing tips. They also gave quite the show. Indifferent to me, perched atop the cedar tub with a long lens and tripod capturing them as they eat.

 

 

Dainty eaters they are not. They rip pieces of petals, then tossing their heads from side to side, roll the pieces up and eat them. Nonetheless, they are beautiful, and just as fleeting as the blossoms they devour. Today, there are only a few, and the waxwings are gone again for another year.