My Cedar Waxwing Summer Challenge

I've always been interested and envious of birds.  Growing up in the mid-Willamette Valley, I spent much of my time enjoying nature - playing near rivers, swamps, forests, fields and therefore many hours watching various species of birds.  The rivers and ponds were full of interesting birds to include Red-winged blackbirds, Sparrows, Swallows, Blue Herons, Robins, and many others.  Forests were filled with Oregon Juncos, Red-headed woodpeckers, Pileated woodpeckers, Wrens, and the occasional owl.  In the fields where I played there would be Red-tailed hawks, Buzzards and Kestrals - flying or perching high above to score the occasional field mouse, snake or squirrel.

As I grew older, more time was spent on rivers and lakes, fly fishing for trout and getting to know the Osprey.  In the early 1990's, I remember spending the day at Hosmer Lake, watching from my float tube the amazing flight and observation skills this bird possesses.  He would perch high over the lake as if resting from the mornings hunt.  He then would sound a loud-pitched "cree" (non-bird expert description) and launch.  Circling his target from a couple of hundred feet in the air, I would see the Osprey stop in flight, hovering as he focused and planned for the dive.  With incredible speed and precision, this amazing bird dove head first at the fish below and then, just before contact with the water, would move his feet and grab the unsuspecting fish.  Fishing all day, every day....my kind of bird.

 Cedar Waxwing

One day several years ago I stopped along the Sandy River to enjoy the view near a hillside at the east end of Oxbow Park. In front of me was a swath of Douglas Fir trees with branches hanging both below and above due my position on the hill.  I noticed a small bird perched on a branch.   It's crested head, beige/brown color, silky yellow-tipped wings and black mask covering its eyes, the bird was both interesting and beautiful.  It was a bird that I couldn't remember ever seeing and thinking that it belonged in some far away land.  I later researched and discovered that I'd located a Cedar Waxwing or Bombycilla cedrorum .

Cedar Waxwing Information 

During this mid-day observation, there was a hatch of some type of mayfly.  For thirty minutes or so I watched this "Cedar" repeatedly spot a mayfly, launch from its perch-branch-platform, gobble-up the bug  and then return to the same resting place on the branch.  What struck me was the simplistic approach to finding and eating a meal in nature by one of God's truly wonderful creatures.  The Cedar's approach was less hunt and more compared to one of us eating from a bag of potato chips - no challenge, a convenient snack with plenty of enjoyment and satisfaction.

Insert Local Cedar Waxwing Picture Here - That is the challenge!

 Cedar Waxwing

Upon moving from the city to the country a few years later, I spotted a small flock of Cedar Waxwings dining on berries from a Mountain Ash tree in my front yard.  I was so excited that I ran to the house for my camera and upon my arrival, of course, they were gone.  I spotted them only on one other occasion on the tree before we decided to take the tree down (neat tree for attracting Cedars - they like the berries, but the tree was not well cared for and was a bit of an eyesore).

While trying not to burn some chicken on the barbecue last weekend, my daughter came yelling for me in the back yard - "Daddy, I see a Cedar Waxwing!"  Now, I've showed her a Cedar a couple of years ago....and let her know that it was "Daddy's favorite bird", but for her to recognize the Cedar while it was perched on a telephone line made me question if it was really a return of this bird.  I ran with her to the front of the house and, with surprise, I saw the first Cedar that I've seen in a couple of years.  He was perched on the line for only a few seconds before flying off.  We searched other trees and telephone lines that day but could not locate another Cedar.

To this end, I've set a goal - Find and photograph a Cedar Waxwing in the Summer of 2010.  Stay tuned....