Juvenile Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) resting among lichens on a pine branch.
There were four juveniles being fed by an adult. Here's a view of them watching and waiting:
Cedar Waxwings are late nesters, breeding late in the season when summer fruits and berries have ripened. The adults will feed the young for ~10 days after they leave the nest. (These fledglings were being fed coffeeberries.)
Where were these great photos taken? We have no confirmed nesting data for Cedar Waxwings in Sonoma County.
ReplyDeleteHi, Ruth!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I knew seeing nesting waxwings was rare, but I didn't realize there weren't any confirmed records in Sonoma County. This was along the Coastal Prairie Trail in Bodega Bay. Let me know if you need more info or additional photos. I have more pictures of the juveniles, and of the adult gobbling up berries before it brought them to the young ones.
I should have mentioned it, but I was first cued to them because I was hearing waxwings call, but the call sounded a little different than the typical call made by adults. It was a little lower and a little slower. If you're used to listening to waxwings, it definitely stood out, so I kept trying to locate the birds that were calling. At first I couldn't find them, and that was a little odd, too. But the young ones weren't moving around that much, and they were often silent while waiting for the adult.
Jackie