Lately the front yard has hosted a flock of Cedar Waxwings intent on stripping the tippy tops of the evergreens -- junipers, I think, but they might even be cedars -- of every last grey-blue berry. We watch them at breakfast in the bay window. They are just a little bit higher up as they dine than we are.
I tried to photograph them -- poorly as you can see by my only clear shot of any of them, the tiny inset at left -- for they are very beautiful with their dark masks, rose-brown-to-finch-yellow belly gradients and tails that look as though they have been dipped in bright yellow paint, just at the very ends. (For a better view of them, check the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Eastern Region. They are entry no. 451.) And they are lively, and social, so then I tried to "film" them with my sickly little Optio.
Optio was not up to the task.
And Sam thought the whole endeavor was stupid. He had other things for me to do, like change the food I'd given him to something else, something he'd like better. He let me know.
Ain't love grand? And are these not the worst, most absolutely pointless things you've ever seen uploaded to YouTube?
I love cedar waxwings. Why? Who can't love birds that play drinking games. They sometimes sit in a line on a branch and pass berries from beak to beak. Fermented berries.
Re: YouTube. I have seen much worse.
Posted by: Kay | December 07, 2007 at 07:18 PM
Yes! They are SO much fun to watch, and they always look like they are having fun, too.
I'm very excited to discover that I know someone else who knows what a Cedar Waxwing is.
I'm also very grateful to you for not pointing out worse things to watch on YouTube. ;)
Posted by: Sara | December 07, 2007 at 10:09 PM