Watching Waxwings, by David Knape

Watching Waxwings
By, David Knape

My wife and I were watching TV when we first noticed something peculiar. Every so often we would see something flash by the window. The flash was so quick we could not tell what it was. Was it bats? Shadows? Our imagination?

Finally, after careful observation, we realized that the flashes were groups
of birds. They were flying back and forth, back and forth, right across our backyard. We could not understand what was causing them to perform this
strange maneuver. Finally I walked outside and saw that across the alley was a tree, loaded with the birds. They were Cedar Waxwings, hanging like fruit, weighing down the limbs. There must have been 200 of them.

They were flying across our backyard and landing in this tree. As one group would arrive and then another group would leave. When one group
touched down, another would take off, looking like a squadron of fighters. They seemed to have a system going, like air-traffic control at the airport.

I watched a group as it headed around the corner of the house. It was then that I saw what was happening. They were eating the berries of the Yaupon tree that was next to our kitchen window. They were plucking the red berries as quickly as they could. The entire Yaupon was alive with Waxwings, working steadily, like pickers in a fruit orchard.

Each bird would pull a berry free, prying it loose with its bill. Then by some
unknown signal, they would all fly off together and head across the alley to the staging tree.

Waxwings are absolutely beautiful birds, quite remarkable in their coloration with colors of brown, gray, and lemon yellow. On the wing is a patch of red, looking like a bright drop of wax, hence its name. They also have a rakish black mask that makes them look like a bold bandits or like Zorro. Their black mask is outlined in white, making it even more prominent.

Waxwings are known for dazzling aeronautics and flying in large flocks. They also eat seeds and berries in massive quantities, stripping an entire tree or field in one feeding. They often pass berries or seeds back and forth to each other, apparently trying a flavor or sharing a dessert.

What a sight it was to see all those beautiful birds and their flights of fancy. Because they were so close to the kitchen window, we could almost reach out and touch them. They did not seem to mind our watching, and went right on with their feeding and their flight plan.

We returned to our TV watching, thinking we would view the birds again later, but before we realized it, all the Cedar Waxwings were gone. The Yaupon was completely bare of berries and the birds had all departed, as mysteriously as they had appeared. We wondered where there next destination would be

One thing for sure, soon there will be a forest of young Yaupon trees popping up, wherever the Waxwings decide to go next.