[va-richmond-general] Re: Silver linings...

I have seen flocks on waxwings around the Boulevard and they would move down 
Floyd or Main or Cary feasting away as they went...
tyler turpin <tylerturpin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:A group of Waxwings comes to 
Regency Mall one or two days each Winter to eat most of the berries off the 
landscaping shrubbery and trees. Some years I see them some I do not not. Have 
the birds done their yearly brief visit to Regency yet for 2004-2005?

Sincerely,

Tyler Turpin

-----Original Message-----
From: IE Ries 
Sent: Feb 4, 2005 11:21 PM
To: RAS 
Subject: [va-richmond-general] Silver linings...

I'm finally feeling better from what I thought was the flu that forced me to 
cancel the January 29 Rockwood Park birdwalk. Sorry about that, and my 
apologies for those who might have come there and then found out I could not be 
there to meet you!
Today was the first real day I've been able to come out of the house and resume 
normal life to any degree after having recovered from what was actually 
sinusitis and bronchitis (it wasn't the flu, ha!). I was on Midlothian Turnpike 
by the Arboretum, as I stopped off to make a copy at Kinkos, and then was going 
to get a treat at Starbucks for a treat. I'd parked by the outer spaces, near 
the road, and got out. I heard sweet chirping, and it wasn't sparrows...I 
looked up at little buff-colored bird tummies. I carefully got out of the car 
and angled around the 13-foot ornamental fruit trees to see....

....a flock of 20 Cedar Waxwings!

I've never been close enough to see the detail of their crest, mask and the 
waxy sheaths on their wings without looking through binoculars. Now, here I 
was, standing but 2-3 feet away from them, right under the tree, as they pulled 
the berries off the branches and swallowed them up! I couldn't believe my 
luck...the flock sat up in the little berry trees, unperturbed by my presence 
and the traffic whizzing past on Midlothian Turnpike, and chirped to each other 
while snacking on fruit. It was amazing! They truly are gorgeous birds, and now 
that I have seen them so close up with my bare eyes, I think they have few 
rivals, say perhaps the Northern Flicker.

I'd been hoping to see some Cedar Waxwings over this winter, but so far I'd not 
been lucky. The weather was very cold and I'd stayed in, only coming out to 
check on and feed the resident goose living in our little community lake. Then 
I got sick for a week. So now, here they were, eating and fluttering about, 
paying the nosey human only 3 feet away under their tree no heed at all.

I got my wish - I got to see the Cedar Waxwings in winter, and they came to me 
in the most unexpected of places. A hawk flew high overhead, and a gust of wind 
came; the birds swirled up from the trees like a little feathered dust devil 
and scattered down the parking lot and out of sight, like late autumn leaves. 
There really are silver linings, afterall.

Irene in Southside

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