Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Bohemian Waxwings of the Vermilon River. A Post to WBW.

Cedar Waxwing



Bohemian Waxwing
   Boom & I are blessed beyond thousands when you figure that we shoot pictures in a wilderness  right outside our door. The birds, animals, insects, and scenery are there for the watching, no looking in some cases required. We don't drive, we walk, no carbon imprint at all. But this was even an easier photo session as these Bohemians turned up outside my apartment front one day to harvest the ornamental crab apple trees at the front of the building.

First a bit of a description difference. The Bohemians have the red rump and the more ornate feather striations if that is the word. Note the difference between photo one and two. The Cedar Waxwing has a yellow rump( under the tail feather, and not shown). The Bohemians are bigger, but who has a tape measure when you're in the woods. Bohemians normally live further north than the Cedars. Cedars restrict themselves to NA, while Bohemians like RedPolls wander the world. There is a Japanese Waxwing, but we don't need to worry about him here.



Bohemian Waxwing
Both are incredibly social birds flying in large flocks not just in a common search for food, but for fun, play and courting. They prefer coniferous forests, and are voracious feeders mainly on berries, but eat insects also. Bohemians incorporate food into their courting rituals where the male and female will exchange food, as well waxwings will exchange food as part of their playful interaction.

Bohemian Waxwing


Bohemian Waxwing
Few birds, whether Cedar or Bohemian, are as attractive, especially with that Mohawk and incredible face mask,and we have both.
Just A Quick Note: I caught up to a note on a post on my blog about the danger of the Alberta Tar Sands. Statoil, the Norwegian state oil company, is a participant, and is in court this week for removing too much fresh water from the area. Norwegian Grandparents, an organization of 2000 grandparents is running a public apology in the Edmonton newspaper to Canadians on behalf of Norway for being involved in the tar sands. There is a very concerned group in Norway including banks, an insurance investor, and citizens that want Statoil out of the tar sands because of destruction to the boreal forest. You can catch it by googling Norwegian grandparents and the tar sands. Hope you'll take a look, read the other posts and pressure for the shut down of the Tar Sands, because we do not have the technology.

A Post to WBW @ http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

A further note: my work screen is showing the format of this blog fine, but the preview which is even missing part of the header, is not so I hope everything is OK.

63 comments:

  1. Great captures Gary! Beautiful in coulers and detals :)
    The berries fit perfect too!

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  2. I agree, what a blessing to have such a beautiful bird to view outside your window! Great photos :)

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  3. those are such beauties! love that one twist-around shot, trying to get the berry. :)

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  4. What I wouldn't give for just one Bohemian outside the window. Excellent post which shows up complete over here Gary.

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  5. Your looking perfect here Gary! You have really caught the beauty of these gorgeous Waxwings. I have yet to spot a Boho down this way yet. They must be your personal stock. Also, thank you for your writings on the tar sands and the interesting Norwegian connection.

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  6. Awesome captures...shame about the tar sands :(

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  7. Snap Gary, but you got better pictures of the BWs than I did.

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  8. Great photos of beautiful birds. You are indeed fortunate to live where the birds and wildlife are so close.

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  9. I've not seen a Waxwing in person so I've enjoyed them virtually with you. I've seen many Cedar's in posts on other's blogs but think this is my first knowledge of the Bohemian. It certainly is a striking bird.

    Carletta@Round The Bend

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  10. Great images Gary I love the berry shots.

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  11. Fabulous photos of these beautiful birds!

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  12. All the photos are just Beautiful.

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  13. Beautiful series of the Waxwings, especially the third one, it is brilliant.

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  14. OH my these shots are awesome!! I think the Bohemian takes the blue ribbon!

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  15. Nice of you to back up the wonderful photos with all the interesting facts,I enjoyed this post very much!

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  16. They are beautiful birds! Gary, you did get awesome photos showing the differences between the two waxwings.

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  17. Hey Gary -- your blog looks great -- I'd never know you were having problems.

    I love waxwings. (Have only ever seen the cedars, at least I think that's true). I was told that they vary their migration route from year to year. Do you know if that's true? We spent about a week one time just staring at them outside our window in our holly tree (in Oregon back when we still had the house there). They fed each other berries. It was the most charming thing. We didn't see them again there, but we've seen them occasionally on our travels since. Now that I think of it, I just assumed they were the same thing, but they might have been Bohemians I suppose.

    thank you for showing both at once. And thank you as always for sharing your beautiful beautiful location.

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  18. Wow - fantastic waxwing shots! Can't wait to capture these myself!

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  19. I am so envious! I rarely see any of there, and never get any pictures. Beautiful pictures Gary.
    B.

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  20. You must be quick to see these beautiful birds when they migrate through our area. I didn't catch them this year.

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  21. Great pictures and post. I love the color patterns on the back of these wonderful birds.

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  22. Gary, these photos are wonderful! The Waxwings are such beautiful birds! I have seen only the CWs, and that was only one time, when a small flock passed through and ate all my holly berries.
    Great post!

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  23. Beautiful photos, Gary! One of my favorite bird and quite a challenge to photograph because of the black eyeband obscuring the eyes, but you did well. Thanks for the info on the tar sands.

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  24. Gary, I really love the 5th photo...the way you captured the bird twisting his head down to eat a berry is outstanding!
    Interesting info about the Tar Sands problem.This is another sad story about a Corporation that puts profits above Nature or Mother Earth. When will this madness end?

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  25. Hi Gary

    I love the waxwings photos. When we lived in Edmonton the streets were lined with mountain ash. Huge flocks would show up every once in a while to strip the trees. It was a wonderful sight. Your photos were a great reminder.

    Thanks Guy

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  26. Great shots! Waxwings are such elegant looking birds with such a smooth edge to their patterns. Great shots!

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  27. Great shots! Waxwings are very cool. I saw a flock flying around here last year and couldn't stop taking pictures.

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  28. Very interesting pictures. The waxwings looks as if they were painted or airbrushed onto the trees. You did a great job capturing them!

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  29. What gorgeous birds! Hope spring is approaching and soon!

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  30. I surely didn't walk too far Rebbecca!!

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  31. They are something to see Frank.

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  32. Hope you get to see them Springman. They are something.

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  33. They're something aren't they Lois.

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  34. And they were just waiting Phil.

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  35. A mob of them is really a sight Bill.

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  36. The BW's are over the top BRC.

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  37. Until the economy implodes because of a lack of cheap fuel, nobody will believe because it means we have to change.

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  38. Which doesn't take long when you have a flock of 100 birds. Does it Guy.

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  39. Thnks RA. They do have a painted feel about them in person because their colours which are vivid flow easily as Pat mentioned above.

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  40. No waxwings around here, so I'm thrilled to see your beautiful pictures.

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