At the risk of oversharing: During a walk, my dogs and I met a flock of Bohemian Waxwings sunning themselves and calling in a neighborhood tree in Centennial, just north of University and Arapahoe. (So this is my third encounter with apparent Bohemian Waxwing flocks today while not birding.) They rehearsed flying toward the sun a few times, alighting back on the tree top, then calling again.
As had the flock Geoff and I watched yesterday, at about the same time of day, the entire flock oriented toward the sun. Perhaps a coincidence, but perhaps also a fairly effective behavior to catch as much of the late afternoon warmth as possible. Eventually they flew off, in the direction they'd practiced. Between their orientation to the sun and their trilling, I was reminded of a performance art piece mentioned in artist and birder Jenny Odell's book *How to Do Nothing. *Entitled *Applause Encouraged, *the piece consisted of a gathering of people in San Diego to watch and applause the sunset. (You can read more here <https://medium.com/@the_jennitaur/how-to-do-nothing-57e100f59bbb>, if you're so inclined.) If I could trill along with the waxwings, I would have. - Jared Del Rosso Centennial, CO On Monday, January 23, 2023 at 1:50:33 PM UTC-7 Jared Del Rosso wrote: > Yesterday, Geoff Stacks and I had flyover after flyover (frustratingly so) > of waxwing flocks, often Bohemians, around Centennial. We finally stumbled > into a flock feeding on junipers, drinking melting snow on a roof, and > sunning on a leafless tree in a residential neighborhood near the Big Dry > Creek. They were joined by a few Cedar Waxwings and robins. Several > passerby asked us about the birds and were enthusiastic about their > encounter with the flock. > > Today, while driving from Centennial to Littleton, I had two flocks of > waxwings fly over me, crisscrossing the High Line Canal. Given recent > sightings, which have Bohemians vastly outnumbering Cedars, I suspect > that's who made up the majority of these flocks. I first encountered a > passing flock on Orchard, then another on one of the Canal's crossing on > Broadway (at Ridge). I had a decent enough view of the second flock to feel > confident in saying that they *might* *definitely* *could have been *and > *possibly > were* Bohemian Waxwings. > > This weekend was the first I'd encountered Bohemians feeding on junipers > (rather than Buckthorn). Have others noticed this transition, or is it just > a sort of fluke of my own observations -- after all, I spent the first half > of January looking for them in Buckthorn thickets? > > These flocks are so remarkable. They really do change the ebb and flow of > suburban winter birding. Same for the Cassin's Finches. In my brief time in > Centennial, only the autumn-winter-spring of 2017-18 has matched this > winter in intrigue. (That was the year of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pygmy > Nuthatches, Red Crossbills, and Steller's Jays -- and my yard had a brief > visit from a Golden-crowned Sparrow.) > > - Jared Del Rosso > Centennial, CO > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/f187fe44-3a6b-4603-bbbe-0a2d476ee96fn%40googlegroups.com.
