Late Winter Cedar Waxwing Sighting

I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink this morning when I saw a lot of flying birds flitting in and out among the maple leaf viburnums in the back. Since I've noticed the birds largely ignore those clusters of large, red berries all winter long, I was naturally curious who was finally going at those delectables with gusto.

I had a hunch, and once I grabbed the binoculars, I found I was right: a flock of cedar waxwings was gorging on those berries. They were moving around so quickly, it was hard to count them, but using my best Project Feeder Watch skills, I quickly guessed there were 7 or 8 of them.

Then something must have spooked them (could it have been me in my red flannel PJs peering through the window?) for they flew off to the upper branches of a nearby sugar maple. Downhill from their perch, their pale yellow bellies were illuminated by the rising eastern sun. I counted 36 of them! I feel as though I've won the lottery!

I've checked on them every 5 minutes or so, but they are still perched in the maple. Perhaps a neighbor's cat was attracted by all the commotion.

I'm really diggin' all the great weather forecast for the week Well, I haven't started digging yet. My yard and gardens are far too wet for any of that. Yesterday I loaded up my trunk with Honda-sized branches and headed for the landfill. It's a tedious process cutting everything up to 3-foot-long pieces, but being unemployed, well, let's say I have time to kill. I made a small dent in the growing mass of pruned mountain laurel, rhododendron, forsythia, butterfly bush, white pine and burning bush that have accumulated in the driveway during the past month.