It's January 4th...

 

"Who are these masked birds? Not Robin Hood's for they live in open woods. They only deal in stolen goods. Like berry futures, cedar cones and sweet, sweet fruit, but leave the stones."

~Janet Yolen

Cedar Waxwings Unmasked

... and there is an elephant in the room. A big, bloated, shitgibbon of an elephant. But there's nothing I can do about his machinations. Just keep watch and hope for the best! Yes, I am stressed out. Sometimes it feels like having any kind of hope for the coming mid-terms seems completely irrational and ill advised. Right now is one of those times. But I am trying to focus on the things that heal me up inside, like birding. One of my favorite birds to photograph, the Cedar Waxwing, showed up in Louis Park a couple days ago. They are beautiful, and challenging, and that's just what I need to get me through... something of natural beauty, rather then all the manufactured drama that fills every single day! So enjoy this little gallery of the delightful little drunk birds, the Cedar Waxwing.

2024's Cedar Waxwing

 

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”

 
~Robert Lynd 

 

I quit X about 10 days ago, and what I have learned in that short amount of time is simple... I was ready to turn off the noise. Social media, overall, has been good for me. I have met amazing people, shared my photos, got to know celebrities I've admired and just generally felt more connected to fellow democrats and those who share my values. It has made me feel less alone. 2024 is a different beast. I will share my opinions, particularly as we move closer to November, and I am hoping to volunteer for my local political chapter, but when it comes to the sounds I want whispering in my ear, I am ready to just hear my birds, and not the head noise Donald Trump causes. Yesterday, as an example, I heard a small group of Cedar waxing land in a tree above me. I heard them, and knew what they were, without looking up! They make a cool little high-pitched sound. Sreeee or  seeeeew. It's fairly easy to miss if you aren't into birds, but if you are, their sound is unmistakable, as is their beauty. I think they are one of my absolute favorites at this point. And as I mentioned in a post last year, sometimes they fly around drunk, which is amusing to watch, bu I can't help buy also feel bad for the bird, like the time I watched one fly beak first into a drive. It wasn't harmed, it flew off dazed but determined to be on it's way. Like all of us I guess. We all walk around dazed these days, but in my case I am determined to be on my way. It's healthy.

#74 for 2024

It's Better, But...

 

"Birds know themselves not to be the center of anything, but at the margins of everything. The end of the map. We only live where someone's horizon sweeps someone else's. We are only noticed on the edge of things; but on the edge of things, we notice much."

~Gregory Maguire

Out Of Oz

 

It's Better, But...

 

I had to pick up a prescription the other day, and because I am a very lucky woman, Alan offered to get it for me, while I waited in the car. Fortunately, I  had my camera with me, which meant I got to play with a group of Cedar Waxwings floating just above my head. Cedar Waxwings travel in communities. This particular community had about 12 or so, which means there was a pretty good chance I would be hit by a bird bomb, or at least one of those juicy berries the birds were getting drunk on. That is the blessing and curse of owning a car with a sunroof, but I happily chanced it, and to my delight, they didn't hit me, or the interior of Bridget, once. The outside got some poop, but the only thing that made it's way inside the car was the berries that fell off the branch as they ate. I had the same trouble getting the wingtips and tails, but look how pretty they look in the sunshine! The photos are better than the last time I tried to photograph them, but practice will make perfect.

It's Better, But...

 

Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve?

 

 

No cold, Flu or Covid-19 so far. Yep, you read that right, our most recent Covid-19 home test is negative, so could 2022 be the year that breaks the spell? Will this be, the first time since moving to the San Joaquin Valley, that Alan and I aren't sick on Christmas? To be clear, we have both been sick on Christmas in other years, but not with the consistency we have experienced since moving here. We have been sick, EVERY... SINGLE... YEAR since 2015! Life is an adventure, but last year was a little more than an adventure, and I would rather not repeat it. Sometimes it feels like Covid-19 is just waiting in the wings, like with the original Omicron, which was basically unavoidable. Shrug. The numbers are climbing here again. They are climbing everywhere, because folks are dumb as dirt, and don't take it seriously. Sigh. If you look at the stats, things are definitely better than last year, but, there is even more room to improve, and the problem is, I can do my part, but if the guy at the store next to me isn't, I am sunk. I guess that is pretty much true about most situations in life. 

Sigh. I guess the best we can hope for at this point it is,

 

 IT'S BETTER, BUT... .

 

 ~Me

Fly Dry... A Public Service Message And #69

 

"November at it's best ... 

with a sort of delightful menace in the air."

 

~Anne Bosworth Greene

 

Meet the Cedar Waxwing. I think I have probably shared this beautiful bird before, you might even have noticed them flying about in your own yard, but I bet you didn't know that, as they fly about sort of  manic and sometimes engaging in an odd kind of darting back and forth, what might happening is ... well ... they might actually be drunk! You see, some of the fruit waxwings love so much, like these berries, tend to ferment, which can lead to a drunk bird, or birds, flying about the neighborhood, singing off key, chirping strange bird words, and pooping any doggone place they want, with NO REGARD for anyone.

 

 At all.

 

There, I said my peace. And no, I didn't get hit by any drunk waxwing poopiness, but that's a weird enough fact about these wonderful birds to properly amuse me. Another fun fact is that somehow they just know when you are doing a photo of them. How do I know this? Because every time I try to get a photo of them, they tuck their wingtips, and tail tips, between branches so you can't see the color in the photographs. They have other distinctive markings, so I can always tell when it's them, but I sure would like to show off the whole bird because the wing and tail tips are quite lovely. Quite unique. Sigh. I love them anyway, and I miss them, so much, when they continue on their migratory path. These birds are fascinating, go read about them!

Cedar Waxwing

Drunk Birds In Texas

 

~Me

Black Phoebe Gallery 2021

 

"There is an unreasonable joy to be had from the observation of small birds going about their bright, oblivious business."

 

~Grant Hutchison

The Complete Lachlan

 

Cedar Waxwing

December 8th 2019

Stockton, California

 

At the end of 2019, and a little ways into 2020, there were Cedar Waxwings everywhere. Here in the San Joaquin Valley, all the way to Cull Canyon, in the East Bay and probably beyond. I absolutely loved it, because I had never seen that particular bird before, and as small birds go, they are really striking! But then Covid-19 came along, and that was that, I resigned myself to stay in my cage, it was the least I could do for the bird brained among us who not only couldn't stay home, because after all, 'merica, but couldn't put on a fucking mask. To be honest, I didn't think anymore about my birdie friends, because my time was filled with what would become the final year of Trump fret. At least as far as we know anyway. Im glossing over his second impeachment right now, but I digress. The Cedar Waxwing quickly became a favorite and I figured they would return in late December or early January. Unfortunately as we crossed into 2021, I hadn't seen a single one, so I wrote it off as perhaps low numbers, or maybe there was a heavy concentration of them in the Bay Area, and not here, shrug. I had also noticed that the European Starlings were fewer this year. These things run their course. 

 

This year it became clear that the tiny bird to take it's place would be the Black Phoebe. I love that little bird! It's a little bigger than the Cedar Waxwings, but not as colorful. Mostly black and white with just a hint of red if the sun hits it just right. It's a cute round shape, and a pleasant chirp/cheep sound to it.  It's hard as HELL to photograph because it tends to blend in with the background, and like the Cedar Waxwing, it's a really fast mover regardless of whether it's flying or scampering on the ground. But on the plus side, it hovers from time to time, which allows me to get the camera focused. It's taken me several sessions in the yard, and at the Cosumnes River preserve to get a decent photo, but happily, a couple days ago, I finally got some great shots right in my own yard! I like it when I don't have to make a special trip for a certain bird, because with my Fibromyalgia it's not always easy for me to do. Sometimes things just come together. I don't anticipate doing many more photos of the Phoebe, unless it's for practice, so here is my finished set, as far as the Black Phoebe goes.

 

Enjoy

I finished photographing the Black Phoebe Friday afternoon, and had the camera ready to go so I could try to get a shot of a particularly nasty Scrub Jay that's been haunting the yard, when I saw a group of tiny birds all fly into the neighbor's tree all at once. They looked mighty familiar, could it be? Cedar Waxwings? I did a couple shots without a tight zoom, so I wouldn't lose as many pixels. And there it was. It was indeed a group of them, happily flapping from branch to branch. tweeting, "Hi Miss Lady!" I couldn't really get a good shot, but that's cool, it still counts, and I am looking forward to the chase. It will happen! I will get a good shot, it will just take practice, like I did with the Phoebe. And letting go of Trump fret!

 

 Nasty California Scrub Jay

 Stay Tuned

~Carly

#PhotoByRequest "In The Clouds"

"I could feel the bite of the autumn air, 

warning us all of the harsh winter that was on it's way."

~Jennifer Starzec

Determination

This week's edition is all about what's "In The Clouds." Which works out well, because we have been experiencing a lot of rainy days lately, much to my delight. I enjoy rain days, especially this time of year, and a I hope there will a lot more of them as we transition into winter. There's nothing sadder, at least when it comes to seasons, then to not be able to experience the best of what they are about. A hopelessly dry winter, that is nothing but cold, isn't much fun. Snow and rain must exist, and hopefully the past couple weeks of hard rain is a good omen of delicious things to come! California can use it, and so could my soul!

Just a few minutes later the sky looked like this... 

And the beautiful Cedar Waxwings loved it too...

 

#81 Leaf Of The Day

December 12th 2019

Sacramento, California

Nikon

~Mood: Happy

~Me     :)

The Autumn Migration Of The Cedar Waxwing

"In autumn, the entire backyard became a mass of lollipop yellow leaves, so bright they lit up the night like daylight. Birds nesting in the trees would get confused because they couldn't tell what time of day it was, and they would stay awake for days until they dropped out of the branches with exhaustion."

~Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper

I found a new bird in my yard last night. Meet the Cedar Waxwing! They are tiny colorful birds, with white and peach colors on the head and breast, and dark gray and almost purple on the head and back, and red at the tip of the winds, but a splash of bright yellow at the very tips of their short tails. Absolutely gorgeous! They had a short, soft chirp, which I found rather pleasing.They were nesting in the tree top in my next door neighbors yard, so I wasn't able to get as close as I wanted to. My photos DO NOT DO IT JUSTICE! So, cross your fingers for me, that I will get some more practice in over the next few days. They are definitely migrating, as they already have their winter plumage on. Autumn is getting sleepy, we had a cold storm this past weekend, my beautiful leaves are getting more and more difficult to find, and there are new types of birds, stopping by to say hello, on their way to a warm bird resort for the winter. My heart is breaking. But my camera is happily imagining how Winter will inspire!

 

Read about this amazing bird here... Cedar Waxwing 

 (Audubon Guide to North American Birds)

#78 Leaf Of The Day

December 9th 2019

Nevada City, California

Nikon

 ~Mood: Happy

~Me   :)