This was yesterday: “Oh gods, I went and filled the feeder, then took Jayne on a walk around the property, and there were DOZENS of Cedar Waxwings in the apple tree. I’ve been trying to get a photo of them for years.” This was not easy shooting, but still, oh, this was so exciting! I sat on the ground under the apple tree, and shot up. Lots of photos here, 12 of them, most below the fold. The last set is underexposed, but I was once again shooting into the sun, so it was the only way to prevent a bunch of silhouettes. They are constantly active, so most of my shots were somewhat artistic blurs. These are also birds who excel at the quick flip the moment you get a focus, so I ended up with a lot of butt shots too. These 12 were the best out of them all. Altogether, a great and grand morning, sitting under the apple and box elder maple trees, in the shade, surrounded by the soporific buzz of bees in all the blossoms. Picked a bunch of lilacs for the studio, too. Click for full size!
© C. Ford.
Feather frowns.
The sleekest, speediest bandits you ever saw! They are beautiful birds, and I’m so glad you had the opportunity to spend so much time with them! Lovely weather, it looks like, too.
rq, thank you! It was a wonderful day, every aspect. One that I’ll remember. We had a massive storm last night, unbelievable rain and hail, I’m afraid to go out and look at everything today.
Elegant birds, amazing photos!
We had a huge storm yesterday as well, and I am also concerned about checking everything out. I do know the ground is green due to all the shredded leaves! There was quite a bit of hail.
Thank you, Kestrel! I hope you didn’t get much damage from the storm.
Wow, they look like they belong in some tropical forest.
They aren’t as excitingly coloured as the Bohemian Waxwings, but around here, I count them as quite exotic looking! I only got the red tips in one photo, which was kind of disappointing, but still it was just amazing to actually get clear shots. :D
Oh, such lovely shots! I’d be pretty excited as well, not just for the birds but also for the setting. The blossoms just make the photos even more beautiful, and you got lovely green and blue tones too. Almost doesn’t look like you had problems with backlighting considering how well the shots turned out! :)
Thank you so much, Nightjar! There really wasn’t a good place to sit where light was concerned, but I’ve been after a photo of these birds for ages. Usually, they are so thick in the foliage, you hear them more than see them. They all alarm at once, too. I was laughing, because if they got alarmed by me, they’d flock off, but only to a neighbouring tree, then they’d be back in a minute. The apple blossoms were just too tempting. :D
Congratulations, Caine! The photos are delightful.
We get cedar waxwings at the trees behind my workplace every year. Very few of my co-workers seem to notice them, even though they absolutely swarm the place.
Thank you, Joseph! Oh, you must fruit trees or other tastiness at your workplace. They are very fond of crabapples.
Beautiful birds. They look so streamlined.
I love the tipping, the colour is so intense it looks like they have dipped bits of them in cans of bright yellow and red.
Thank you, Charly. I think they’re around 7 inches or so, and they’re actually on the plump side, but dress is everything, and it does make them look sleek.
Jazzlet, yeah me too! I saw plenty of the tips, but every time I got a focus, a bird would do the quick flip aaaaand butt shot.
Lovely looking bird in lovely surroundings.
The second-to-last is a fun picture. The dark stripe on the side of the head mixes everything up nicely.
Thank you, Ice Swimmer! I do love the opportunity to capture birds when they are busy grooming. It’s so interesting to watch, they are all quite the contortionists.