Sunday, February 13, 2011

Midwinter Waxwings and other birds

Another cold but bright day yesterday. I was walking around on the Putney School campus looking for the flock of Bohemian Waxwings that had been reported there earlier in the week. At one point I saw a flock of about 20 birds flying past and knew they were Bohemians, not just by their undulating flight but also by their contact sounds, a soft constant rippling trill. They briefly settled on a tall tree near me and then were gone again, not to be seen again. A student pointed me to an apple tree where they had been spotted before. I only found a lone Winter Robin picking away at a frozen apple.



In the same neighborhood near a feeder I spotted this little bright-eyed house sparrow all puffed up against the cold.


Eventually I gave up and drove home. I consoled myself with going over photos of Bohemians I had taken two years earlier during an irruptive year. Now having software with better noise removal, less intrusive sharpening and better color rendition, I set about to rework the originals. The results are posted below.

This was a large group of Bohemians, some basking in the warm winter sun, others foraging in the crab apple trees or on the ground underneath.






On another occasion, when the sun was not as bright and colors more muted,  I saw a smaller flock in a row of crab apple trees.




I don't give up easily. I went back on the campus today. Walking was more treacherous as many of the walkways were iced over despite having been sanded. I had to take a picture of the fantastic icicles hanging from the roof of a cabin. 

Still no Bohemians, but found a small flock of Cedar Waxwings foraging in an apple tree.








Enhanced by Zemanta

36 comments:

  1. wow! Hilke...these are fantastic! I'm glad you posted the Bohemian Waxwings because they are beautiful photos. Your last Cedar Waxwing photo is spectacular. I love it...so incredibly bright! Glad the ice and cold didn't keep you at home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great reworks, and fanastic new shots of the Robin, sparrow and the Waxwing. Boom& Gary of the Vermilon River.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful post Hilke. I would love to see some cedar waxwing one day. They are quite cute too!!! Well let's hope some bohemian will fly your way ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fantastic images, Hilke! Just wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, you have some of the best ever shots of the Waxwings. just awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you all for your kind comments!
    JoAnne, I did not see the pine warbler, nor did another birder that I ran into there 2 days ago.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Those icicles and great photo of the waxwing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings are so sleak and photogenic. Great photos!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What can I add? Wow...on the great captures!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fantastic images of some lovely birds I really love the Waxwings. It still looks very cold over there.
    Best wishes Andrew

    ReplyDelete
  11. Fantastic birdshots, you could frame each one!

    Thanks for your comment but my pelican is not a brown but an Australian Pelican, Pelcanus conspicillatus.

    Happy Valentine's Day . . . Arija

    ReplyDelete
  12. Absolutely delicious.
    And I don't just mean the crab apples :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great bird photos and the ones you 're-worked' are especially nice. Wow! to the photo of the icicles!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Fabulous birds and super images Hilke.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I hope to get a glimpse of the cedar waxwings as they migrate through. They are not here for long. Last year it was early March.

    ReplyDelete
  16. SUPER images!! I love the wax wings--and I've got icicle envy!! Thats a huge amount of snow and ice.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow! I enjoyed today's post. I think waxwings are such pretty birds. Your last shot is dynamite!

    And those icicles? Ooh la la! Impressive!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I remember the first time I saw a Wax Wing - I was on a bus on the way to work in the middle of winter in the UK - rather improved the day!

    Just like these pictures!

    Cheers

    Stewart M. Australia.

    http://payingreadyattention.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  19. Fabulous post! I couldn't decide which is my favorite photo - all of them are terrific!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovely post! Waxwings are such beautiful birds. I've never seen Bohemians but I was taken by surprise one day, a couple of years ago, by a small flock of Cedar Waxwings - the only time I've seen them. I keep waiting for them to come back!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great fluffy feather balls in the first photos! Waxwings are always great, aren't they? And that last photo is just gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Epic post Hilke! I wish I wasn't half deaf and could hear and recognise the bird calls as you beautifully describe. Your pictures are quite an intimate look at these lovely Waxwings working the landscape.
    That is the finest collections of icicles ever! ;-)WBW

    ReplyDelete
  23. Those are amazing pictures! Wow, words fail me (and that's rare!). I've seen cedar waxwings, but never the Bohemian. But every one of your pictures was wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wonderful photos Hilke.

    Bohemians are so erratic. I haven't seen one this winter.

    ReplyDelete
  25. love that last waxwing photo and the ones with all of them in it, cute! They're fun birds. That's a ton of ice on the house -wow!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Exceptional shots of the waxwings Hilke, both the Cedar and Bohemian! It is so hard to get a great shot of a bird with its dark eye masked in black but your last photo of the Cedar Waxwing has got to be one of the best I've seen. The group shot of the Bohemians in the tree with the one flying ion from the right is very cool too!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Hilke, I just stopped in from the rambles with my camera blog and so glad - GREAT bird shots. I enjoy photographing visitors at our backyard feeders and invite you to stop in and visit our little blog. I will be back again too!

    ReplyDelete
  28. lovely post.... Waxwings are a pleasure arnt they.

    Lovely shots all the way through the post, Brilliant image of the hanging icicles

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thank you all for your wonderful and thoughtful comments!! I am still waiting for another sighting of Bohemians in my area to get some uptodate pics.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Fantastic shots. Some look like paintings. Bohemian Waxwings are yet another species I am longing to see! My apartment house looked like that cabin with all the icicles until we finally had a thaw and they all fell off! I hope they don't return either, though it does LOOK impressive!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I missed this,HIlke. It's a fabulous post with divine images. I envy you these shots of the waxwings. Great detail and eye light. What a great shot of the icicles, too. Could make a great holiday card with a red border!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wow, Hilke, what a sight! How often do we get that many Bohemians at once, even in the snowy reaches of the northern US? I've got tons of snow here in Rochester, NY but the BOWAs aren't flocking here.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I love seeing waxwings-they are like living works of art.That last photo is a real show-stopper!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.