We have been seeing huge numbers of Cedar Waxwings lately;
in fact they are the dominant species right now. We can easily count sixty
birds in an evening. We have been a little puzzled as to why the increase in
numbers as compared to a month ago. Last
night we took a closer look, and noticed that some of them looked
different, they did not appear to have the distinct crest. I got a photo, and when we
checked we realized that some were juveniles.
Cedar Waxwings have an average of four young ones in a brood, so our number
of waxwings has tripled, which probably explains our increase. You may notice that the breast feathers do
not look like a Cedar Waxwing, but resemble more the “vest-look” of an
Olive-sided Flycatcher. Last night we also
solved a mystery bird cry, and think it belongs to a juvenile Sharp-shinned
Hawk. The cry matches that of a recorded
juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk. No photo or even a sighting, but we did witness a
tremendous confrontation between some Steller’s Jays, Sharp-shinned Hawks, and
American Crows.
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