Eastern Blue Jay
I enjoy seeing all types of both songbirds and the exotic big birds here in Florid! Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo. Enjoy!
Crow
Eastern Bluebird
Red-winged Blackbird (male)
Pileated Woodpecker
Boat-tailed Grackle (male)
Cedar Waxwings
Cedar Waxwings are a lovely songbird that love to eat berries. Our neighbors have three Holly Oak trees that are full of bright red and tasty for birds, berries. A few days ago, I noticed a large flock of birds circling around the neighborhood alighting on tall trees and then moving on to another area of trees.
Since I believed that these birds were Cedar Waxwings from their appearance and behavior, I watched from a distance while the birds swarmed the Holly Oaks taking berries with abandon! Quite the sight. I had to stay pretty far away because whenever the birds spotted me, off they would fly.
I think my neighborhood is on the normal migration route for these birds on their trip back up North. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the photo. Enjoy!
A flock of White Pelicans
Northern Mockingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, and a fly-by of a flock of American White Pelicans were all spotted early this evening (March 16, 2018) here on my street in The Villages, FL.
The Northern Mockingbirds are residents of the neighborhood, while the Cedar Waxwings and White Pelicans are Winter visitors. The pelicans were headed North in a definite flock pattern. The Cedar Waxwings likely are on the way North but have stopped here to feed on berries. Many of the Holly Bushes and small Holly Trees are full of berries and there are also a lot of other small fruits in season here such as Loquats.
The Waxwings love various kinds of berries and sometimes get tipsy on fermented fruits and berries. I love the Winter visit here by the beautiful waxwings. The former Juniper across the street that was a favorite place to perch for the waxwings got cut down a few months ago so the birds are in a few trees here including the big Live Oak in my backyard. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger version of the picture. Enjoy!
Northern Mockingbird
White Pelicans
Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwings
Cedar Waxwings, Boat-tailed Grackles, Northern Cardinals, and of course, White Ibises all have visited along the street here where I live in recent weeks. It is always surprising to see which bird (and squirrel) is around! The Grey Squirrels are usually well-behaved but on occasion, they do walk gingerly across my front screened porch screening. No holes and that is a status I hope continues.
The Ibises are gentle and unfortunately easily frightened when grazing on lawns (not so when begging at the local park lakes). Occasionally we also have Eastern Blue Jays, Carolina Wrens, Northern Mockingbirds, and Palm Warblers around but they are pretty rarely seen (same for Bluebirds, Crows, and hawks or vultures). Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger picture. Enjoy!
Grey Squirrel
Northern Cardinals (likely juvenile males)
White Ibis
Boat-tailed Grackles
White Ibises
White Ibis
That gigantic flock of Cedar Waxwings returned a few days ago to the large Juniper Tree here on my street. This time the flock returned to ripe or over ripe berries festooning the branches of the tree. Because these berries do ferment when overly ripe, the birds can sometimes get intoxicated from ingesting them! Lots of really big loop de loops in the skies. I believe the birds came out OK though and did not get harmed by this.
I also noticed a family of Northern Cardinals across the way on the roof of a home here. I also noticed a Carolina Wren and probably what was a Palm Warbler near the Northern Cardinal.
Some of the homes are seasonal and this one has not had proper maintenance as evidenced by the saplings growing in the rain gutter. It is not uncommon in Florida to see this when the gutters get clogged with leaves and wind or birds drop seeds on the roof. The birds were hunting for insects and also seeds on the roof. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
During the past couple of days we have been seeing a big flock of Cedar Waxwings here in our neighborhood. It is likely that there are several hundred birds in the flock. These birds slightly resemble the Tufted Titmice in that they have a top-knot but they are larger, are a rosy beige with yellow, white and black markings. They Cedar Waxwings also have the appearance of a faint smokey-black eye mask. I really like these cuties!
The Cedar Waxwings like eating berries (such as the Juniper berries seen in some of these photographs) and small nuts. They also eat insects but generally are seed-eaters. They can sometimes become drunk from eating fermenting berries! What a thing! Please click on the thumbnail image to see the slightly larger photo. Enjoy!
This medium-sized flock of Cedar Waxwings was perched way up in the tops of several large Oak Trees at the far end of my property at twilight a few days ago. This flock comes and goes but most often is here only for the night. I think that the big trees are a favorite perch for these birds. Cedar Waxwings are small birds with beautiful buff, white, grey and black markings. They also have distinctive yellow tips on their tail feathers. The Cedar Waxwings have a black mask and a short crest top-knot on their heads. The males are a little brighter in color than the females. These birds are mostly fruit eaters. They love berries of all kinds. Right now, there are many berries still on the shrubbery near the trees where this flock is perched. Because it was almost dark when I snapped these pictures, I have used photo editing software to lighten the pictures so the birds can be seen easier. I took these pictures on November 20, 2011 in my yard. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
I was out with my camera recently at sunset and saw a flock of birds up in the Oaks near the pond here. I looked carefully and saw that the birds had crests and were about the same size as a Cardinal. But no, these were not Cardinals, but they were Cedar Waxwings. I had familiarity with the Cedar Waxwings when I lived in Northern California many years ago.
Cedar Waxwings are smaller medium-sized birds with a light buff to reddish-brown body, a black mask, a top-knot crest, and have tail feathers with yellow tips. The Cedar Waxwings love eating berries, fruits of almost any type, seeds, nuts, and a few kinds of insects. Sometimes you will see Cedar Waxwings swoop and fly fairly erratically. This is due to their penchant for eating slightly fermented berries. Cedar Waxwings are new to me here. I think I only saw a single Cedar Waxwing at my old place. I am glad to see the big number of birds here at my new property. I think that there are enough trees, the pond and nearby lakes, and the pastures, to keep a lot of birds happy. Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture. Enjoy!
