Cedar Waxwings — Entry for Feathered Friends — Show Me A Photo Contest Round 174

From a birding perspective, we has a somewhat exciting afternoon the other day when a group of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) came through our area.

They seem to be sporadic guests here, and usually come through in small flocks, typically with the impression that they are "on their way somewhere."

This is my entry for the Feathered Friends - Show Me A Photo Contest Round 174 challenge organized by @nelinoeva in the Feathered Friends Community. Following this week's "free theme."

All photos by @labyrinths

Official entry photo:

Glimpse of a cedar waxwing in the salmonberry thicket

Never had much luck photographing the waxwings... they tend to be rather skittish and shy birds, and they seem to be eternally moving, making them rather difficult to keep in focus.

They also like to search for berries inside bushes, which also makes the photography challenging.

They are very distinctive birds with their russet crests and bright yellow tail tip.

Whereas cedar waxwings are resident to our region, they don't seem to resident here on this area of the peninsula which is surrounded by ocean on three sides and gets occasionally salt fogs/mists.

But it's always exciting when they do visit!

This one was only on the wires for a few seconds, before moving on

We usually see more roaming flocks of these birds in the fall, when the rowanberries are ripe. Sometimes the very late early winter visitors get to the rowanberries at a time when they are "overripe" and slightly fermented... resulting in the birds getting naturally "drunk" and flapping about somewhat clumsily in the trees.

Unfortunately, this group was only here for a few minutes so the photos are not of the greatest quality.

I'm just grateful I even had a chance to get a few photos!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

All images are our own, unless otherwise credited!