Many birds are pretty, but few are as sleek and stylish as Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). I love their rakish black masks, slicked-back hair, and yellow-tipped tails.
I spotted a small flock of these wonderful birds on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, acrobatically snagging berries high in the trees. In the final photo, a Cedar Waxwing was upside-down as it reached for some colorful porcelain berries, a plant that is considered an invasive species in our area.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Those berries are as interesting as the birds.
The multiple colors of the berries remind me of the gumballs that I could get in machines when I was a child.
Beautiful. I’ve not heard of this bird before.
I so enjoy these birds! Have you ever watched them pass a berry down the line to others? Glory!
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Thanks, Mitzy. I have never seen them pass a berry to others–the waxwings that I have watched have instantaneously swallowed berries as soon as they grabbed them. That definitely must have been a cool thing to see.
Yes, it is. I’ve watched them once, long ago when my son and I used to bird so much. They were lined up on a shagbark hickory branch passing berries down the line. They are a favorite of mine! Just wrote a blog about Birds in the Hood. 🙂
I love the upside down shot 🙂
One of America’s most handsome songbirds. And your photos are terrific Mike, you capture their elegance so well. I espec. like the last one, whimsical.
Thanks, Jet. The last one is in fact my favorite one. The upside-down pose and the fanciful “gumball” berries make me smile–“whimsical” is a perfect descriptor.
One of my favorite birds, such good looks! We get flocks of them nesting by the river – I love the way they perch, fly out to catch a bug, then return over and over.
A wonderful bird. Great pictures! I just saw one the other day eating Japanese Yew berries.
One of my favorites! We used to gave a Russian olive tree in the front yard and once a year they would descend in a large flock and then just as quick as they came, they disappeared.
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Gorgeous portraits of a beautiful bird.
Very nice Mike! Great images!
Thanks, Reed.
Excellent shots! I don’t know how you get these perfectly timed shots!
I LOVE Waxwings. Send some my way!
Waxwings are pretty fickle–once they have stripped the berries from a tree, they seem to be quick to move on to destinations unknown. It is always a surprise to me when I run across some of them.
Wonderful photos of the beautiful masked bandits! Thank you.
“Masked bandits” indeed. I grew up watching the Lone Ranger and Zorro, so my mind immediately goes to them whenever I see Cedar Waxwings.
They are so handsome, as if they’ve just come out of the beauty salon. Your second is my favorite, in spite of the leafy veil.
Fun captures of this tricky to shoot bird, Mike! I particularly like the upside down fellow, shows off how industrious the waxwings are.
[…] At a time when most of us are wearing masks that cover our noses and mouths, this is the second wild creature that I have seen recently with a black eye mask—I previously featured masked Cedar Waxwings in a posting entitled Cedar Waxwings in November. […]
Your description reminds me of the Jets from West Side Story! Bob was playing the score the other day. If this bird had fingers he could snap them as you snap photos!