Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Cedar Waxwings and Summer Tanagers


The cedar waxwings will be leaving for their nesting grounds any day. They finished stripping the holly tree by the horse pasture in about 3 days, and have been feeding at the edge of the woods, presumably on tulip tree flowers. They are so striking with their sleek yellow and fawn feathers and their black masks that look like a bold streak of paint.

They like to hang out in the blackgum trees, always very late
to leaf out, in between eating berries. You can hear their calls here.








I wonder if any of these birds will nest in the mountains of our state. Their breeding range extends from the NC mountains up to much of Canada.

The Red-Shouldered Hawks have chosen a conspicuous spot to nest this year: a pine tree just at the edge of the woods, equidistant between the old and current house sites. I noticed the hawks making a bunch of racket nearby, saw what looked like a raptor's nest and thought "No. Right there?" Sure enough, that's their nest. They're probably incubating the eggs right now.


Summer in central NC wouldn't be summer without the songs of summer tanagers and blue grosbeaks. We used to have both scarlet and summer tanagers but I haven't heard or seen a scarlet for 5 or 6 years now. A summer tanager still patrols his territory that includes the old house site. I got a couple of pictures of him as he flew from tree to tree and sang. They don't seem to fear people much. This one seemed to be thinking "sure, you can take my picture". For 3-4 years there was a Summer Tanager who hung out by the horse shelters a lot and was so tame I wondered if he was hand-raised. I almost expected him to land on my shoulder. The way he fluttered about so close made me think of the cartoon birds in the old Disney movies, and made it seem as though we were on the verge of switching over into some alternate enchanted reality.


Once the resident indigo buntings arrive the summer song repertoire will be complete. Indigo buntings love the heat and sing out in the open no matter how sunny and hot the weather.

You can hear the song and call of summer tanagers here. The ones on our farm sound more "southern"; the tempo of their song is slower. They're a little bit hoarser too, although overall they sound more musical. You can hear the indigo bunting here. They sound much like goldfinches except they sing in paired syllables rather than long strings of similar notes.


19 comments:

  1. Hi sweetbay, I think the picture of the Tanager is not working for some reason. Love the rest of the pictures!

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  2. Thanks Jen! I have fixed the Tanager picture.

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  3. The Cedar Waxwings are so perfect looking they appear fake. We had them briefly this year and I so loved them. I read that depending on what type of berries they eat their undersides can turn red...

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  4. Darla I haven't red that the belly color changes, but that the tip of the tail feathers can be orange instead of yellow depending on diet: Cedar Waxwings

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  5. Ale piękne stadko jemiołuszek :)
    Pozdrawiam.

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  6. Those waxwings look to be wearing masks,, hence the raid on the holly tree.

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  7. Your photos of birds are fantastic, Sweet Bay! Yesterday I spotted some turkey vultures on top of our barn and quickly ran inside for my camera; sure enough, they had all flown away by the time I went back:) We surely have cedar waxwings in Illinois, but I've never seen one in my yard. And the summer tanager--what a pretty little bird!

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  8. Oh gosh those tanagers and buntings are so beautiful and so elusive here in my area of Tennessee. I've only seen one of each in all the time I've lived here. I wish I knew what they sounded like. It must be mighty nice to listen to them.

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  9. Such beautiful birds, neither of which are common in my yard. I did see a summer tanager a few years ago. I am making an effort to plant shrubs and trees to attract birds, so perhaps I will see more like the summer tanager or waxwings. I hope!

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  10. Oh your pictures of the cedar waxwings make me ready for summer! We had a huge flock stop by our yard last year and it was wild. Must have been hundreds of them. Great pics! Cheers, jenni

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  11. Great captures of the Cedar Waxwings and your lovely Tanager Sweetbay! How sweet to have such a beautiful bird be so friendly with you. I love the image of you, your horses and this beautiful bird flitting about. Magical. I hope you get some photos of the hawks too, as they rear their young! It was fun to have the Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings here all winter. I look forward to the return of the Indigo buntings too! Sweet songs all day long . . . spring is finally with us and unfolding quickly now.

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  12. Thanks for adding the links in Sweetbay! I went and checked out all three. I recognize the waxwing and bunting but not the tanager. I'll listen better now though. They are delightful!

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  13. Sweetbay, Thank you for the links to the bird sounds! Wasn't the hissy whistle of the Cedar Waxwing piercing! I would love to have them in my garden~But, I've not seen them ever. With the hawks so near the little birds will be sending out frequent alarms. It's going to be a great time to bird watch in your garden. gail

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  14. What beautiful birds. I think they are marked so wonderful. I think we have them in parts of the state but I have never saw one around my home. Great pictures!

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  15. I enjoyed your bird post. We do not have Cedar Waxwings here so they seem very exotic to me. I like the flash of black around their eyes. We don't have Summer Tanagers either, but I know of them through a well known Canadian short story.

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  16. Ah Sweetbay, your place and ours are connected by the opposite seasonal arrival of the waxwings. Nice to know they have such a nice place to hang out all winter!

    Love your photos! :)

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  17. I spotted two Blue grosbeaks on the feeders recently. Have not spotted them in a long time. I quickly snapped a few pics but they are not that great. We get them, waxwings, Indigo Bunting during their migrations. The Summer Tanager is here in the summer though. All beautiful birds and now nice to know the sounds of the waxwings!

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  18. I've only seen Indigo Buntings once and that was back in the 1980s. They were at the feeder after a 10" snow storm in the month of May.

    Wouldn't the songs of your Summer Tanagers sound "horser" instead of "hoarser"? ha-ha

    As usual, I've enjoyed seeing your photos, especially that gorgeous NC blue sky.

    Happy weekend, friend. donna

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  19. How funny that you posted about the Summer Tanager.... I have a really bad photo of one, singing at the top of the pine tree at the top of the street. I was trying to make a better ID and your posting popped up on Google. I have enjoyed hearing their songs.

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