Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

My interest in Cedar Waxwings was piqued last Summer when I saw a couple of them in a tree on one of my many walks into the forest close to where I live.

I had just started becoming interested in birding, and these birds fascinated me to no end. I had been fascinated by the acrobatics I saw them do when trying to pluck berries off the trees and knew that I would want to spend some more time watching them.  I saw them very briefly that time, and despite my returning to that area time and again after that in the hopes of catching another glimpse, I never did.

A few months ago, my friend Swati told me that she saw a large flock of birds in a nearby tree and when she sent me a picture of the birds, I jumped right off my chair - they were Bohemian Waxwings (if I remember correctly) and I was so excited!  But then I remembered that she was in San Francisco, and I wouldn't be privy to this sight at all!  So, I guessed I'd have to somehow find these birds here, in my neck of the woods.  And so I did! :)

I saw Waxwings for the first time this season on my trip to Charlevoix.  I went out very early a couple of mornings to catch the sights and sounds of the area, and could't believe my eyes when I saw a flock of about 5 - 6 Cedar Waxwings eating berries.  Since then, I have seen them on a couple more occasions, and I also had the great opportunity of seeing them feeding their babies!

The next few images of feeding their young aren't of good quality at all, and are severely cropped to get any detail since the birds were really high up in a far away tree.  I wanted to post them anyway, since I observed a pattern in their feeding habits.  The parent never feeds the entire berry to the baby in one shot.  They keep placing it in the baby's mouth, taking it out, and then putting it back again.  They do this a few times, until they put the entire berry into the baby's mouth.  I have to assume that the baby probably sucks the juices out of the berry first until it shrivels up and becomes small enough to swallow.  No idea!

As you've most likely guessed, there are actually two species of Waxwings - Cedar, and Bohemian.  Cedar Waxwings are more colourful with a brown head, light gray wings and a lemon yellow belly, whereas, the Bohemian Waxwings are mostly gray with a rusty undertail. I'm yet to see a Bohemian Waxwing, as they're more common in the West.  The Cedar Waxwings also have distinctive red spots on the tips of their wings, and bright yellow at the tips of their tails.

The following image is of a juvenile.  Notice the yellow tail tips.

This looked like a family to me - the parents and the two young ones

The most distinctive feature of either species of Waxwings, is perhaps the black mask around the eyes, and a drooping crest.  They have a high-pitched trill and I have mostly seen them eating berries and feeding the berries to their young.

I believe they also eat insects, but I've missed the action.  I don't remember seeing this bird go after the bee, although it was clearly observing it.  I got a few shots of it calmly watching the bug.

I went back to the forest where I found them last time in the hopes of being able to get some good shots of the feeding, but normally, they are so high up in the trees, or so far away, it's very difficult to get access to them.

One of the places I saw them was at Bois de Liesse in L'Ile Bizard, about a 45 min. drive from Montreal.  Beautiful park, and the boardwalk that leads visitors into the marsh lands is a place that every birder must walk down to see the many different bird species that make their home there during the summer.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias)

The Great Blue Heron (henceforth referred to as just GBH out of pure laziness), is by far one of the most  frequently seen birds in my area, besides the starlings, the pesky blackbirds and the sparrows, of course! 

I would almost tend to believe that each year they come back to the same spot!  No, really!  I have seen herons at certain spots, year after year and therefore, my strong belief that they return to the same place.  I would ask them if this were really the case, if only I could get close enough.  Although, the images here might give you the idea that I was indeed within earshot of these herons, I have to tell you, they weren't!  I had to crop in extremely tight.  

I also noted, that I'm yet to see a group or even a couple of herons together.  They must have their mates close by, but I've never seen more than one at any given time.  

The GBH is the largest heron found in North America, and can be easily identified by their grayish-blue feathers, a long neck speckled with white, reddish-brown thighs and very distinctive dark coloured plumes.  The dark blue feathers on the shoulder are very prominent as well.  They usually eat fish, but I've seen images showing them eating snakes, toads, turtles and small birds!  I can't imagine they eat small birds!  The eyes look cruel, don't they!  

GBHs live in fresh or saltwater marshes, as well as in areas around lakes and shorelines.  I have also seen them next to a little pond in my neighbourhood, which is in a very, very urban setting.  The last couple of images showing the bird with a fish were taken at that pond as you can clearly tell by the presence of park fencing in the background. 

The next couple of images are part of a large series that I took of this bird catching fish, bringing it ashore, killing it by repeated pecking and checking, and then taking it back to the water to wash off the blood and soil, before devouring it.  

This was my first time seeing a GBH up close, and I had spent at least an hour watching it, before it finally did something interesting.  I remember having stayed around for at least another couple of hours afterwards, hoping it would take off for the evening, and I would be able to photograph it in flight.  However, that didn't happen, and it happily just decided to snooze a few feet from there (the last image in this series).

Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

I think these tiny little birds are the cutest and most curious in the bird kingdom!  They look similar to house sparrows till you get a good look at them.  Very similar in size, what sets them apart is the colour of the nape and the back.  The Black-capped Chickadee has a gray nape and back, whereas the House Sparrow's is reddish.

The calls are different as well, once you listen carefully.  However, I sometimes confuse the Chickadee call with that of a Nuthatch, a blackbird or even a Cardinal!  I have heard 3 to 4 distinctly different calls, and thereby the confusion.

There isn't any difference in the appearances of adult males or females.  The distinguishing feature of this little bird is the rounded body and head, with a short bill.  I have found it particularly challenging to photograph them on a cloudy day, because their black caps make it difficult to see and focus on their eyes.  I am yet to get a shot that I'm completely excited about.  And they also peck like woodpeckers!  Read on to find out why.

It's very interesting to stand and watch their acrobatics, as these are really hyperactive birds.  And if you aren't focussed, you'd miss seeing them hiding in the higher parts of a tree or getting lost in the dense foliage.

One of the many interesting facts I'd read about them (and remember!) was that other migratory birds like nuthatches, woodpeckers and kinglets flock with them and they heed the chickadees' warning calls of alarm even if they don't hear or have their own alarm calls.  Saying that, it now explains how I have often spotted nuthatches very close to where I've spotted chickadees.

Another interesting thing is that they hide their food in cavities in the trees, and they come back for it later and peck into the cavities to retrieve their hidden treasure.  They have a fantastic memory and remember exactly where they hid their food.  They can hide food in multiple places and remember exactly where to come back for them!  I could do with that kind of memory - it would really help me when I'm looking for misplaced documents, keys, or even my glasses!

I guess this chickadee was looking for its food in the image below.

Mallard (Anas Platyrhynchos)

The Mallard is probably the most common duck you will see around in your local water bodies.  These are dabbling ducks that dip their head under water with their feet and tails sticking out, in order to search for food.

The males have an iridescent green head, a dark brown chest with a lighter body, and a bright yellow bill.

The females are a much paler brown with darker brown streaks, a dark crown and a dark eye stripe.  The female Mallards can also be identified by their purplish stripe on the wing near the tips.

The ducklings have a black eye stripe and the sides of the face are yellow.  They are the cutest things you'll see waddling around.

Recently, I've had the opportunity to stand and watch this duck family of six babies swimming around with their mother.  I was amazed to find a lot of similarities with human babies in that they were as playful as little kids are, and extremely mindful of the mother's quacked instructions.

This young brood spent a lot of time being curious about my camera, and kept swimming up to me, but as soon as they got too close to me for their mother's comfort, the mother quacked and they immediately fell back.  However, just as human babies are sometimes too curious and don't pay heed to what the parents say, one of the six came up so close to me, that I couldn't even focus any longer, my minimum focussing distance being 1.8m on the long lens.

The other thing I noted was the level of activity of these ducklings.  They did a peculiar scoot over the water's surface and chased each other around.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

These are gorgeous birds with a very sweet song.  The males are a bright red with a black eye stripe, auriculars and chin.  A distinguishing feature of the Northern Cardinal is the crest that both male and female birds have.  The females are, however, brown in colour with reddish tinges on the wings and a bright red bill.

Click here to see more information on the Northern Cardinals habitat, behaviour and calls.

I have spotted these birds a handful of times, out of which I was able to take proper images only on a couple of occasion.  The first time I spotted one, the bird was so high up in a tree, that I thought I wouldn't get any semblance of a picture at all, since I was using the 55 - 250 mm lens.  The next time was another washout, because the bird chose to hop in and out of the undergrowth on my neighbour's property.  They say one's third time lucky, but for me it was actually the fourth time when I finally got this bird feeding in someone's backyard.  I would have missed him completely, had I not been trying to track a yellow warbler at the time and just happened to get behind a tree.  This guy was really well hidden behind the tree, but he couldn't escape my camera after all!

These couple of shots are by far the best ones that I have.