A flicker, two robins, one hummingbird, and then … a chorus of thin high pitched seee seee’s punctuate the hot evening air as small 7” (17 cm) birds criss-cross above our heads, like little bullets – wings folded down, close to their body.
Could they be?
Are they?
If they would only land somewhere visible where we can positive ID them. There! On top of the tree – at 12 o’clock – shouts Randy. They ARE cedar waxwings! Here take a look through the binoculars. What do you think of their head crest and black eye mask? And see those red spots on their wings? These birds secrete this red substance that sort of resembles blobs of wax; hence the name ‘waxwing’. Neat, huh?
What a night! Ten bird species identified, three birders, a zillion mosquitoes and one big fat raccoon sauntering across our path, into the cooler forest beyond.
Starting temperature on this Friday, July 11, 2014 was 30 degrees – at 7 pm!
And Karen … apparently if you dab a bit of vinegar on those mosquito bites it will take the itch out. Good luck!
If you would like to join us on our next Burnaby bird adventure, visit our Stoney Creek Environment calender at https://scec.ca/scec-calendar/ or email info@scec.ca – weekday & weekend walks
To hear the voice of a cedar wax wing and see some fabulous shots check out https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/id
Robin & Rufous Hummingbird by Randy Snyder, Stoney Creek by Wendy Snyder