On roughly an every-other-year-schedule, Cedar Waxwings show up in droves during January, remaining in Central Texas through March. On a daily basis they visit my pond by the dozens, even hundreds. Gregarious birds, it’s rare to see a waxwing alone. They’re always with their besties, swooping in to bathe and drink, rushing upwards to safety when some unknown event triggers their (apparently very sensitive) flight mechanisms.
This Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum stayed still long enough for me to observe and snap a photo, posing to show its good side.
It dipped and drank, gracefully exhibiting the signature waxwing yellow tail feather ends and red wing feather tips. Cedar Waxwings are stunningly beautiful birds.
I felt lucky to grab a photo with a small group, none of which fuzzily winged from the frame just as I snapped the shot. Thanks, birds!
While the waxwings certainly enjoy the pond and visit it throughout their winter vacation here in Austin, the most important thing they get from my garden are fruits from various plants. This waxwing is aiming to pluck a ripe, red berry from my Possumhaw Holly, Ilex decidua.
I couldn’t get a perfect photo of a waxwing eating a berry; either the berry was smeary or the bird was smeary. At least in this shot, it’s obvious that the bird is leaning down for a bite of berry.
Within an afternoon or two, these cheeky birds, with assists from a couple of Blue Jays and Mockingbirds, stripped the tree of its fruits for this year. I’m sorry to see the pretty berries no longer decorating the tree, but I’m pleased that my garden provided a favorite food for these lovely birds. There are still red fruits on my non-native Burford Holly, Ilex cornuta, but one day soon, the waxwing mob will descend for a communal nosh and those berries will be history–just like the Possumhaw fruits.
I love seeing these charming birds in my garden, with one exception: berry bird poop on the patio, chairs, plants, rocks…
Garbage in, garbage out, I guess.
My Gardener Says... 
A happy return indeed.
One thing I’ve found helpful in photographing cedar waxwings swooping in for possumhaw fruit is to put my camera in rapid-fire shutter mode, which means that as long as I hold the shutter release button down the camera keeps taking several pictures a second. Out of a bunch of photos taken that way, there’s often at least one that captures the action in a good place. If your camera has that capability, it’d be worth trying out.
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I’ve used another camera on rapid fire and it does work well in these kinds of situations. I need to try it with this camera, not sure why I haven’t. 🙂
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Lovely post. So nice your garden welcomes them back. I recall the first time I saw a Cedar Waxwing and I was astonished.
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They are such pretty birds, but so flitty!
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They’re back! I look forward to the one final mess that is them swooping in and stripping the neighbors ligustrum of all berries… instead of the constant mess of fallen berries all through early winter. Always exciting to see them
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They are fun to watch! I wish your neighbors had something other than ligustrum (really invasive), but I’m sure the waxwing wings love the juicy fruits. Hope you’re well, Lauren.
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They are such beautiful birds, aren’t they? I don’t have a favorite bird species, but they are among the favorites. They’re here year-round, but they seem to be more plentiful in flocks in fall and spring. It’s fun to listen to them and watch them in the Cranberrybush Viburnum shrubs.
Beth @ PlantPostings.com
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Same here, Beth. So many wonderful birds to love, but waxwings are just so charming and happy birds. And they do love to pose. 🙂
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I love when the mob comes. Last year, they were here for Christmas and I haven’t seen any this year and all the berries are on the bushes.
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Last year I only saw a handful for the whole winter in my garden. I would see groups of them fly over, but just that few visited. But that has been the pattern: one year a very few, next year a bunch. Who knows what birds are thinking, eh?
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Lucky you, Tina. This is the kind of visitation I love to experience, bird poop included (it is a great fertilizer! 😊).
Your photos are wonderful. Waxwings are among my favorite birds–their plumage looks like velvet and all I want to do is caress them.
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Great fertilizer in the garden, that’s true, but gross on the Adirondack chairs. 🙂
Thank you. I only got a few good photos, but I didn’t really take all that many. I’m keeping an eye out for their upcoming visit to the Burford Holly, which are in the front garden.
That beautiful fawn (?) color just begs to be caressed, doesn’t it?
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True–no fun to sit down in their droppings. 😊
It’s great that your garden offers a variety of berries for them to consume.
I haven’t yet seen any waxwings around here but hope to come across some flocks. They also love crabapples, which are popular among local gardeners.
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Their smooth feathers make them silken beauties, then add the details: mask, waxwings and yellow tail end and you have perfection. Great captures, Tina. Seeing them is worth losing the decorative berries (like the robins pillaging my hollies)!
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“Silken beauties”–great description, Eliza. They are such attractive birds and fun to observe. And you’re right: the berries are for them and that gives gardeners like us a great sense of satisfaction.
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I’m so glad they arrived for you this year. I’ve not seen any for perhaps three or four years, partly because neighborhood palms are being shorn of their flowers before the berries form. The birds can be messy, but if nothing arrives to eat the palm fruit, those drop and make as much of a mess as mulberries. I think waxwings are so beautiful; several years ago I posted a poem celebrating them that was written by a poet from Amherst — Eliza’s neighborhood. I may repost that, just for the pleasure of it. If I do, I’ll link back here, so people can see them in a proper garden!
There are so many yaupons and possumhaws heavy with fruit right now it may tempt them here!
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Some years I only see a few, or a few that fly over. Other years, it’s the mob. I don’t know what the biology of that is, but I’m certain there’s some seasonal/food supply aspect to that.
I think I remember your poem!
I’m still seeing lots of yaupons and possumhaws with berries, even though the waxwings (and others) denuded my fruits.
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