Today we have a batch of photos from UC Davis ecologist Susan Harrison. Susan’s comment are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. Don’t miss the baby possum (last photo)!
Backyard Visitations
Recently I was fortunate to have a large mob of brightly colored birds visit my back yard. A flock of over 100 Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) had been zipping around the neighborhood in their tight flying formation, constantly conversing in their high-pitched whistles. These wonderful birds are like parrots of the temperate zone in that they are colorful, social fruit-eaters, flocks of which will quickly denude a berry-covered bush before swooping off to another one. They descended upon my backyard pond the for a boisterous communal drink, as I sat at my computer/cat-cuddling/birdwatching station.
The photo sequence below illustrates the Cedar Waxwing’s always-changing body shapes, lively social behaviors, and unusual coloration: “a silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, rakish black mask, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers” (per AllAboutBirds.org). [JAC: I always thought that if an Adidas sneaker could fly, it would look like a cedar waxwing.]
Amidst the more routine winter visitors like Yellow-Rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) and White-Crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), other recent notables have included Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) and, in our Oregon yard, a presumably amorous pair of Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus).
Purple Finch:
Red-shouldered Hawks:
A friend in Davis has been so fortunate as to have Barn Owls (Tyto alba) take up residence in her yard. Actually, it’s not a matter of fortune, but of putting up several well-placed owl nest boxes.
Barn Owl:
Owl nest boxes:
This same friend has just released, in her yard, nine baby Virginia Opossums (Didelphus virginiana) that became effectively orphaned when their mother was trapped and relocated. May her possums not become dinner for her owls; there are plenty of rats around for the owls to eat!
Baby Opossum (with me for scale):
Beautiful photos of Cedar Waxwings!
Oh wow the collection of waxwings is do fun to see! I happened to notice waxwings in my area one day thanks to RWP
The cedar waxwings remind me of hummingbirds with their huge angular wing flapping displacement. One of my engineers was doing early work on micro air vehicles (flying vehicles with a max dimension of six inches or less) and biomimicry and he showed that hummingbirds have angular wing displacement exceeding 180 degrees if I recall correctly from years ago. Thanks for these amazing shots.
if an Adidas sneaker could fly, it would look like a cedar waxwing.
Absolutely. Have never seen one before, but they do look like designer birds.
Beautiful photos. They even make an opossum pretty cute.
The Cedar Waxwings in flight are like elegant ballerinas. Wonderful photos of them.
Beautiful ]. The Waxwings are amazing, but so is the Barn Owl. And, the cute little possum!
Excellent pics – thank you.
I never get why people dislike possums. (I’ve never met one or even seen one but they seem pretty cute and I’ve read they make good pets).
I’ll stick with puppers but the angst about possums confuses me. Do they run stock swindles or fart in church or something? Many mysteries.
Thx for the pix though.
D.A.
NYC
Thanks for the wonderful photos, including those of the barn owl and the possum. Some years ago (maybe 20?) there were more wild critters around my yard than I see now. Possums were occasional visitors, as were skunks. They seemed to eat some of the seed that had fallen from the bird feeders. One very lucky season a mom possum brought several of her kids up onto my deck–they were about 6″ long, not counting the tail–much like the one you are holding. My cats were gathered by the door, fascinated, having no clue what these little creatures were.
These photos are priceless! I love all of your photos. What a cute opossum. I’m glad the babies were saved.
Always good to have this sort of thing come up.
Lovely photos. Thanks. 🕊️🦅🕊️
My first surprise encounter with an opossum on a hiking trail here in Southern California really fooled me. The animal was lying motionless on its side, and I thought for sure it was dead as I stood over it. But then it got up and ran off, so obviously it had only been “playing possum”. I had been totally duped by this creature’s catatonic charade! This play-dead behavior of opossums is well-known and even has a name: thanatosis or tonic immobility. Presumably its role is to deter predators, when hissing or biting fail.
Very nice pictures!
Wonderful photos. Waxwings remind that in 2016 a flock of 50 or so feasted for days on 17 year cicadas at our Ohio cabin. Such beautiful nearly silent birds.
I especially like the photos showing the wings extended.