{"id":115560,"date":"2023-09-01T05:53:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T11:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=115560"},"modified":"2025-10-23T14:48:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T19:48:16","slug":"cedar-waxwing-perched-among-hawthorn-berries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/09\/01\/cedar-waxwing-perched-among-hawthorn-berries\/","title":{"rendered":"Cedar Waxwing Perched Among Hawthorn Berries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The last time I was in the Wasatch Mountains, I heard the calls of waxwings. I didn&#8217;t get many photos, but I thought I would share this Cedar Waxwing from one year ago today.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-115556 size-full\" title=\"Adult Cedar Waxwing perched among hawthorn berries\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930.jpg\" alt=\"Adult Cedar Waxwing perched among hawthorn berries, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Adult Cedar Waxwing perched among hawthorn berries \u2013 Nikon D500, f9, 1\/1250, ISO 500, -0.7 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I drove up into the high country of the Wasatch Mountains that day, and found deer, chipmunks, butterflies, and waxwings in my viewfinder along with some late summer wildflowers.<\/p>\n<p>This Cedar Waxwing was taking a break from eating the hawthorn berries and looking at the other waxwings that were flying by when I took its photo.<\/p>\n<p>I am enamored by these silky waxwings. Their feathers look as soft as the melodic <a href=\"https:\/\/xeno-canto.org\/634982\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">calls<\/span><\/a> they make. Some people, especially men, can&#8217;t hear the calls of these waxwings. I do, I usually hear them before I see them. The calls of these waxwings tell me exactly where to find them.<\/p>\n<p>When I see Cedar Waxwings, I think of my maternal grandmother and the time we were mesmerized by a large flock of them in my backyard in Georgia. They remind me of the times I taught my sons about waxwings when they were growing up. Additionally, it brings to mind the first time I was able to capture a photo of this species that made my heart skip a beat. Maybe two or three beats.<\/p>\n<p>Even though I only took a few images of the Cedar Waxwings on my most recent trip into the mountains, I was thoroughly delighted by their calls and by seeing them on the wing. Some were perched way up at the top of old cottonwoods near the creek, and a few were hawking insects from the air.<\/p>\n<p>I could watch Cedar Waxwings for a very long time. Sometimes, I even forget to take photos of them because I become so immersed in their beauty.<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/cedar-waxwing-images\/\">here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Cedar Waxwing photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The last time I was in the Wasatch Mountains, I heard the calls of waxwings. I didn&#8217;t get many photos, but I thought I would share this Cedar Waxwing from one year ago today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,4597,1731,26,773],"tags":[4004,6605,6666,4599,4897,3940,4598,7298,6667,6566,6583,4069,4104,7297,2315,5916,4600],"class_list":["post-115560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-cedar-waxwings","category-summit-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-berries","tag-berry","tag-bombycilla-cedrorum","tag-branch","tag-canyon","tag-cedar-waxwing","tag-crataegus-rivularis","tag-fruit","tag-hawthorn","tag-leaves","tag-mountains","tag-perched","tag-river-hawthorn","tag-summer-3","tag-waxwing","tag-waxwings"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cedar-waxwing-perched-hawthorn-mountais-mia-mcpherson-0930.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-u3S","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106005,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/09\/08\/late-summer-cedar-waxwing-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":115560,"position":0},"title":"Late Summer Cedar Waxwing Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing three late summer Cedar Waxwing images I took in late August in a canyon high in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Cedar Waxwing stink eye, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cedar-waxwing-adult-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-9888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cedar-waxwing-adult-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-9888.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cedar-waxwing-adult-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-9888.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cedar-waxwing-adult-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-9888.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":103138,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/06\/10\/serviceberry-and-cedar-waxwing-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":115560,"position":1},"title":"Serviceberry And Cedar Waxwing Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I stopped to take a series of Cedar Waxwing images as a small flock of waxwings perched in a serviceberry that has just finished blooming.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cedar Waxwing perched on a serviceberry branch, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cedar-waxwing-adult-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-7835.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cedar-waxwing-adult-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-7835.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cedar-waxwing-adult-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-7835.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cedar-waxwing-adult-serviceberry-mia-mcpherson-7835.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":104602,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/07\/29\/adult-cedar-waxwing-in-morgan-county\/","url_meta":{"origin":115560,"position":2},"title":"Adult Cedar Waxwing In Morgan County","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I was happy to photograph an adult Cedar Waxwing perched on top of a willow thicket in Morgan County high in the Wasatch Mountains four days ago.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cedar Waxwing with a raised crest, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/cedar-waxwing-willows-mia-mcpherson-8498.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/cedar-waxwing-willows-mia-mcpherson-8498.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/cedar-waxwing-willows-mia-mcpherson-8498.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/cedar-waxwing-willows-mia-mcpherson-8498.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62818,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/01\/17\/photographing-cedar-waxwings-in-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":115560,"position":3},"title":"Photographing Cedar Waxwings In The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"For a couple of years now I have enjoyed photographing Cedar Waxwings high up in the Wasatch Mountains from spring through the tail end of autumn.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cedar Waxwing close up in a blooming Hawthorn, Wasatch Mountains, East Canyon, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cedar-waxwing-close-up-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-1085.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cedar-waxwing-close-up-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-1085.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cedar-waxwing-close-up-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-1085.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cedar-waxwing-close-up-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-1085.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105006,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/08\/14\/cedar-waxwing-in-willows\/","url_meta":{"origin":115560,"position":4},"title":"Cedar Waxwing In Willows","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I am sharing a simple adult Cedar Waxwing photo that I took four days ago as I sat in my Jeep next to a creek high in the Wasatch Mountains.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"High key adult Cedar Waxwing, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cedar-waxwing-adult-high-key-mia-mcpherson-2831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cedar-waxwing-adult-high-key-mia-mcpherson-2831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cedar-waxwing-adult-high-key-mia-mcpherson-2831.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/cedar-waxwing-adult-high-key-mia-mcpherson-2831.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52585,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/06\/14\/nesting-cedar-waxwings-photographing-them-is-a-challenge\/","url_meta":{"origin":115560,"position":5},"title":"Nesting Cedar Waxwings &#8211; Photographing Them Is A Challenge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been photographing nesting Cedar Waxwings and I have to say that it tests my skills and is a true challenge because of the light, how quickly these birds move and the cluttered habitat.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cedar Waxwing in a hawthorn, Wasatch Mountains, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cedar-waxwing-adult-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-2208.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cedar-waxwing-adult-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-2208.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cedar-waxwing-adult-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-2208.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/cedar-waxwing-adult-hawthorn-mia-mcpherson-2208.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}