Fabulous 45

I would ordinarily have sent this image to the bin as the focus isn't great and the shooting conditions (against a cloudy sky) weren't optimum.  That said, I like this because it captures a bit of the frenetic activity that was going on today in our little grove of red cedar trees.  For several weeks, we've been getting small flocks of 20-30 Cedar Waxwings feeding on the "berries" (actually small cones) of the cedars.  Today, there were over 50 and I simply couldn't resist sitting in the driveway in my portable hide (car) taking photos.  Eventually, some of them came a bit lower in the tree and I got some reasonably good shots of individual birds.  But I kept coming back to this one.  

Cedar waxwings are very social birds and also quite talkative even though their high pitched tzee is too high for some people to hear.  As I sat in the car, windows down, I was serenaded by the tzees of waxwings, the whinnies of robins, the odd squeaks of starlings and the lovely song of the white-throated sparrows.  It made me so grateful that I have hearing, if only in one ear.  

Also spent some quality time in the hide in that back yard where I enjoyed the antics of blue jays, chipmunks and titmice.  All in all, a most enjoyable day.  And now I am off to the gym to do some cardio.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the love you sent to little Stumpy.  He was back today, doing battle with all the other chippies, hoarding seeds and just generally being cute.

xo
Debbi

If you want to see all 45 of this year's yard birds, click the tag "yardbirds2019" below.