Cedar Waxwings raid crabapple tree (FZ18) 4 images

If you have never seen a crabapple tree invaded by the Bohemian Waxwings you've missed a site! These guys have been working on my neighbor's tree for about a week. They came the same time last year so they know this tree..and it was loaded! They are amazingly quiet when they fly into the tree in small groups and a loud flutter when they fly out in large groups (being spooked or whatever) to another tree to regroup. I had to sneak up and stand absolutely still, about 8 or 10 feet from the tree for photos. Sometimes as they flew out individualy or in groups they would buzz me within inches...pretty neat! They don't sit still as they are always moving looking for new fruit so I had to keep looking and shooting. Supposedly, because they crabapple are well rippened and fermented, they get a little "souced" after awhile in the tree. They'll usually raid the tree in the morning and again in the afternoon.

RDS would have been a great asset here as the birds were hard to locate with shadows, tree colors and bird colors. I usually had to look with two eyes then, using the EVF, find the bird and shoot. I took singles shots at first but learned that the burst mode worked best. I just bought the Daisy RDS and ordered the other parts for mounting on the FZ30 and the FZ18. I could not find the Daisy MaxView RDS (model 7811) anywhere in stock so settled for the model 7809 for $8.65 at Walmart.

A determined looking fellow!



You looking at me!?



Now you see it...



Now you don't!



Randy
Southern Oregon
FZ30, FZ18, FX35

Beautiful! I've gone on some Audobon society walks, and sometimes it's hard to see a bird that we hear even with binoculars, no less with a camera. You got some remarkably good shots here.

Beautiful! Nice captures. How wonderful for the birds you have this tree. And how wonderful for you!
--
Vickie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/myssvictoria/

Nice shots!!
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My pics at
http://www.eyeseenature.com

Thanks for the comments.

I do feel fortunate to be able to take these photos. I told my neighbor I would make her a nice 8x10 framed glossy of a waxwing since she provided the tree for the show.

Randy

rpm44 said:

If you have never seen a crabapple tree invaded by the Bohemian
Waxwings . . . . .

Click to expand...

Excellent, Randy! That must have been a lot of fun and we look forward to hearing how you get on with that low-cost Daisy sight! It seems to be the one I see recommended the most often.

Mike
--
FZ8, F20

She choked on trying to swallow something that big!
Nice shots, however.
Djedi
--
Old timer

Great shots! There are a bunch of those trees in a nearby park. I'm going to check them out and see if they have similar visitors.

--
W.C.

Randy,

Mark your calendar. They will be back next year. I see them in my service berry tree every year.

I saw some, recently, in a pear tree pecking away at the ripe fruit.

Roger

Thanks again for the comments.

Mike, it was fun. I actually went to the tree about 5 or 6 times to photograph, a couple of days were cloudy and a couple were sunny and of course the sunny days produced the best results.

Roger, I haven't done any research but other berry trees may also be suitable to these guys. We have tons of pear trees here in the valley and didn't think to see if they like them also.

Afvn72 let us know if you find them in your trees. You may have to go back a couple of times as they seem to wait between raids...to digest I would guess.

Randy