My birdbath in west Knox County this morning was visited by a flock of at least
50 thirsty Cedar Waxings who stopped by for a quick drink. It was amazing
watching them swarm the bath, swirling down from a nearby tree and constantly
changing positions with each other. In the middle of all this frenzied
activity a starling swooped in for a bath, causing the waxwings to back off
until the starling had completed its bath at which point they resumed drinking.
I was running late and couldn't stick around to see the conclusion but when I
drove off about 10 minutes later there was no activity at the bath and I
haven't seen them since. Don't think I've ever seen a Starling and Waxing in
close proximity before but the starling was quite a bit larger than the
waxwings which kind of surprised me.
Carole Gobert, Knoxville
