Staring Cedar Waxwing adult in a hawthorn tree – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Every time I’ve gone up into the Wasatch Mountains lately I have been searching and listening for Cedar Waxwings to observe and photograph. The serviceberries, chokecherries, and currants have started to bloom at higher elevations and I hope to find some Cedar Waxwings feasting on their flower petals.
Last year I found a small flock of waxwings feasting on the delicate flower petals of hawthorns near a creek and this year I’d love to add some photos to my galleries of them eating the petals of another kind of flowering tree. It doesn’t matter to me if it is serviceberries, chokecherries or the blossoms of a currant.
I would not have found the Cedar Waxwings feasting on the hawthorn blossoms last year if I hadn’t stopped to eat the apple I brought for breakfast because they weren’t in the hawthorns when I first arrived. It took a few minutes before I heard their calls and located the waxwings in the trees.
Not everyone can hear the calls of Cedar Waxwings because their calls are very high pitched. I can hear them and those calls often clue me in on their location which allows me to photograph them, sometimes.
I’ve noticed that I can hear the Cedar Waxwings best when I am traveling slowly down the road with my window open and I stop, turn off my engine, and wait to see if the birds I’ve heard will make an appearance. My Jeep is pretty quiet even when I am traveling on gravel based or bumpy roads which is great for listening for birds. If I can hear birds, I can find them.
Next week the weather forecast looks much better here in northern Utah than the weather has been this past week and I am looking forward to getting back up high in the Wasatch Mountains to search for birds.
Life is good. Stay safe.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Cedar Waxwing photos plus facts and information about this species.
Great pic of an incredibly beautiful bird. I learned about Cedar Waxwings through your posts a few years back. Now they number among my favs. Thanks Mia.
So they eat the petals, too…knew they ate the berries, but didn’t know what else…Interesting info…as usual…
Great photo! When walking through the woods underneath a flock of Cedar Waxwings, their sound is other-worldly. Quite exciting!
They are such beautiful birds! Thank you for sharing this lovely specimen today.
Your eagle eyes and ears serve you (and us) well.
For some reason that call doesn’t seem to match their appearance. If that makes sense?
I totally get it, EC! Kind of like a small child who can belt out show tunes or opera — it’s unexpected, given the waxwing’s appearance.
I miss their high sweet trill. Luckily, they nest in the yard and are with us all season busy. So much to watch. Thanks for the great photos!
The waxwing has such an inquisitive look.
We have had a lot of waxwings in my area since February, but they are always high up in the canopy of the trees.They seem to eat the blossoms of all the trees except the horse chestnut.