2020 has been a disaster in many respects but it has been good for me as far as photographing Cedar Waxwings high in the Wasatch Mountains. I’ve taken more photos of adult Cedar Waxwings to add to my portfolios and that always makes me happy.
Adult Cedar Waxwing lifting off towards the sky – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
On August 10th I drove into the mountains for a quiet, relaxing morning and came away with quite a few bird photos I have yet to process. This morning I wanted to share two of the Cedar Waxwing photos I took.
The first is of an adult Cedar Waxwing that was perched at the top of a willow thicket. The waxwing was only perched long enough for me to lock focus on it and to take four images of it before it lifted off. I was tickled that I caught the waxwing lifting off in this frame and that the sky wasn’t a plain, flat blue because the clouds in the distance added a nice gradient to the background.
Immature Cedar Waxwing framed by serviceberries – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
This year has also been good for me for photographing juvenile and immature Cedar Waxwings. Up until now they have been a challenge for me for many reasons among them being too far away, hidden, bad light angles or not getting the vehicle motor stopped soon enough. This year I’ve added dozens of images of the young Cedar Waxwings to my digital archives and quite a few to my gallery.
I wasn’t sure I liked the photo above because the setting is rather busy but the more I’ve looked at it the more I like it because it shows the young Cedar Waxwing in the habitat I often find them in and I still have a great view of the bird’s chest, face, and eye.
Life is good. Stay safe.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Cedar Waxwing photos plus facts and information about this species.
I adore the second photo!
The liftoff shot draws me eye – again and again.
And of course the young ‘un is a charmer too.
I really like the lushness surrounding the immature Cedar Waxwing. What a beautiful frame for this lovely bird!
That immature waxwing is striking! Often they look so rumpled and not very attractive.