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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

The berry eaters

Waxwings are among our most visually spectacular birds

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 8/17/16

A high-pitched, almost insect-like trill can announce the presence of one of the most visually spectacular birds in the North Country as well as competition in your blueberry patch.

The cedar …

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The berry eaters

Waxwings are among our most visually spectacular birds

Posted

A high-pitched, almost insect-like trill can announce the presence of one of the most visually spectacular birds in the North Country as well as competition in your blueberry patch.

The cedar waxwings, along with their close cousins the bohemian waxwings, are among my favorite birds. I still remember the first time I pointed a pair of binoculars at a cedar waxwing, which was dining at the time on crabapples near the house where I grew up in Bloomington. I could scarcely believe my eyes.

While many birds are known for the seeming perfection of their plumage, the waxwings are in a class by themselves, with plumage so fine and dramatic that they seem fashioned almost from silk. Come winter, the slightly larger bohemians regularly wander into the area, most often taking up residence in town, where they feast on decorative berries, like crabapples, dogwood, and mountain ash.

This time of year, it’s the cedar waxwings that make the North Country home and they’re feasting right now on the abundant berry crop out there in the woods. I often run across them while picking blueberries…they know a good thing, just as we do. There’s hardly a berry they won’t eat, and if there aren’t fresh berries in the woods, they’ll eat the leftovers of last year’s crop.

Very few birds in the U.S. rely almost exclusively on fruit, but waxwings come as close as any species in doing so. During the summer, of course, they do take advantage of our abundance of insects and often perch alongside lake or river shorelines, where they catch flying insects. Earlier this summer, I sat for an hour along the shore of Lost Lake, watching a flock of cedar waxwings feasting on a huge concentration of a soft-bodied, blackish beetles that had descended on a dead balsam fir that was hanging over the water’s edge. The entire time, their soft trilling filled the still morning air.

Waxwings are communal birds, and their constant trilling seems to be a means of keeping the group together as they move through the forest. While some birds set up their distinct territories, waxwings tend to nest in loose colonies, without the kind of friction sometimes exhibited by other species. It all seems in keeping with the waxwings, which strike me as very laid back for birds. It’s like they have life figured out and don’t get too excited about anything. They spend lots of time just hanging out, preening, trilling, grabbing a bite now and then. It really is a bohemian lifestyle. I sometimes envy them their freedom.

These birds got their name from their distinctive plumage, which includes small brightly colored patches, or dots, on their wings. The feathers have a glossy, waxy appearance. They are limited to two or three dots on the cedar waxwing, while the bohemian waxwings sport even showier plumage, mostly in red and yellow.

So if you’re out working the tail end of your favorite berry patch this weekend, keep your eyes and ears open for these spectacular denizens of our summer woods. And leave them a few berries while you’re at it.