Cedar Waxwings with a bit of luck!

Go figure, a few days ago I commented on here that I did not have any decent Cedar Waxwings photos. These are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination...but I got them finally! He was sitting in my crab-apple tree outside my window. When I went outside to try to get a better shot, he flew up into a much higher tree with his mate.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/uyi8​TL

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/uR8V​t2

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/uyio​sy

Nice, I can't seem t get them to work with me at all! Had them in the yard a few weeks ago, no luck on good photos. Drove 1100 miles round trip for a bird photo trip with my best friend. 4 came into our camp, again, no luck on any keepers, quickly becoming my nemesis bird~!

Great that you could get a nice picture of them Sandy. Not the easiest to photograph for sure. Well done.

Nice shots, and i'm glad you got to see them.

cole4570 wrote in post #17602280
Nice, I can't seem t get them to work with me at all! Had them in the yard a few weeks ago, no luck on good photos. Drove 1100 miles round trip for a bird photo trip with my best friend. 4 came into our camp, again, no luck on any keepers, quickly becoming my nemesis bird~!

Thank you! Maybe like me, your chance will arrive soon. I usually only see them in the fall when everything is ripe, and free for the picking.

KT29 wrote in post #17602299
Great that you could get a nice picture of them Sandy. Not the easiest to photograph for sure. Well done.

Thanks Terry. Their black mask, and being in the shade, really made a challenging post production nightmare. But I shall not complain!

oldzzy wrote in post #17602393
Nice shots, and i'm glad you got to see them.

Thanks Shane. They may not be as good as your shots, but that's okay!

Nice

Get yourself some 'Autumn Brilliance' serviceberry shrubs. They get 15-20' tall the berries here ripen the first week in June, and the Cedar waxwings love them. They cost about $75 locally balled and burlapped at 5'tall. Im actually going to buy a dozen this fall to plant on my fencerow for the purpose of photographing waxwings and bluebirds.

nice that you were finally able to get some shots, Sandy! i had a similar moment with pileated woodpeckers this spring...

Nice job Sandy.

I too have found them difficult to get photos of.
I have a few decent shots but nothing great.
Keep on trying. If it was easy, we would get bored.

Well captured Sandy.

Mel-S wrote in post #17602426
Nice

Thank you!

Beekeeper wrote in post #17602775
Get yourself some 'Autumn Brilliance' serviceberry shrubs. They get 15-20' tall the berries here ripen the first week in June, and the Cedar waxwings love them. They cost about $75 locally balled and burlapped at 5'tall. Im actually going to buy a dozen this fall to plant on my fencerow for the purpose of photographing waxwings and bluebirds.

Thanks for the great tip. I will certainly look into those shrubs. Do they have any other name that they may be called?

squirl033 wrote in post #17602777
nice that you were finally able to get some shots, Sandy! i had a similar moment with pileated woodpeckers this spring...

Thanks Rocky. They do keep us on our toes, and our families snickering at us when we get over excited when we spot an awesome bird or critter!

jhayesvw wrote in post #17602796
Nice job Sandy.

I too have found them difficult to get photos of.
I have a few decent shots but nothing great.
Keep on trying. If it was easy, we would get bored.

Thanks Jeremy! So very true!

Red Dexs wrote in post #17602867
Well captured Sandy.

Thank you! They certainly did have a busy background.

Congrats, Sandy, well done! Despite beekeeper's planned "planning", I think when it comes to these birds, it's luck as much as anything-right place at the right time. That's how it was w/ me, once here and once in Texas.

Great shots Sandy.

They are often listed as shadbush serviceberry. Amelanchier canadensis is the most culivated species, and the 'Autumn Brilliance' cultivar is, in my opinion, one of the nicer looking varieties. Cedar waxwings flock to them more than any other berry producing tree or bush I've seen around this area.

I used to work at a large wholesale nursery, and the serviceberry bushes were always popular with the waxwings in late May to early June. The berries were usually consumed in a week or less off of several hundred bushes. Waxwings are fruit and insect feeders so you have to give them a reason to stop and visit. You can also look for serviceberry bushes around business parking lots too when out and about.

very nice, love the waxwings!