Crabapples, Berries, Winter Bloomers and Winter Bird Flocks
Cedar Waxwing with its favorite winter food, berries. ( Cheapshot/Wikimedia ) by Sharol Nelson-Embry As I was out walking the dog just before another big rainstorm hit our Island City the other day, I noticed large flocks of birds in the bare tree branches. As I paused and my bird dog lifted her head in interest, I thought they were probably ordinary, non-native starlings. After parsing out their calls, though, I was excited to find it was actually two separate flocks — one of robins and one of cedar waxwings! The waxwings are one of my favorite birds and among the first I could readily identify in my college ornithology class. I was so excited about them, that I showed them to my husband when we were dating. He was later able to point them out on campus to another pair of students that were interested in them. He told them the birds name and let them know how special they were. That was his first time as a “bird whisperer.” He’s never forgotten it. Notice t...