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Cedar Waxwing eating apple flower pedals...

Konrad___far_north

17 years ago

Today out in the orchard....

Konrad

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Comments (16)

bbcathy
17 years ago
Gorgeous pic as usual. I have seen Orioles eating flowers too.
hawkeye_wx
17 years ago
Great photos. They are beautiful birds. A week ago I saw my first two waxwings ever in my backyard.
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Liberty apple still best resistance to cedar apple rust in Iowa?
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Comments (7)
I agree with you, Acer, that the choice is a contradiction. The Green Giant (Thuja) was the other contender when I narrowed down my choices. There were a few things that tilted the selection to cedar. One is that it is nearly impossible here in town to get an apple tree far enough away from junipers to avoid cedar-apple rust if the apple tree is susceptible -- the experts say something like a half-mile of distance is needed. There are probably several junipers in neighbors' yards just on my block alone. So one more juniper will not likely cause more trouble than the other existing dozens would. Second, I prefer native plants. If there were no resistant apple trees, I would plant the juniper anyway because the juniper is native. According to one source, it is the ONLY needleleaf evergreen native to this particular area. On the other hand, apple trees are the interloper here. As far as I know, no apples are native to Iowa, not even crabapples. So why plant an apple at all? Well, I have this stubborn conviction that every yard needs an apple tree because I grew up with one. Even tho it was out behind the garage and surrounded by tall shrubs and could only be seen when one was standing right underneath it, it impressed me enough to want an apple tree wherever I call home. "Home is where the apple tree grows." Third, along with being native is the observation that these junipers are found in native stands along with black walnuts, so they are already good friends and won't cause trouble between themselves. It's good to know that my trees will feel good with each other. Their driplines will be very close, maybe overlapping. Fourth, the juniper provides berries that birds enjoy during the winter and the thuja does not. Feeding wildlife is an important consideration to me. No, I have not heard of cedar-needle pie either! Haha. I'll have to work on that one -- what a challenge! But I think one can make gin from the berries. I wonder how the berries would flavor citrus-based confections like lemon pudding? Fifth was the growth rate. I think the juniper grows a bit faster than the Thuja. I can certainly afford a bigger juniper to start with because a close friend has a farm full of junipers -- he admires the tree -- and he'll dig one up to transplant. It'll be like a family connection through the tree. So I might have a useful screen in only a few years to block a neighboring apartment house window that looks down into my big patio window, which I like to keep uncurtained. When it's all added up, I am simply very happy that my stubborn, contradictory convictions can be satisfied with a really promising solution like a disease-resistant tree.
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Comments (17)
How about other trees in the same height category: paperbark maple Acer griseum corkscrew willow 'twisty baby' locust Redbud.....maybe a great native choice for you!!! or slower growing trees with outstanding foliage like some beech cultivars... 'roseomarginata' or some wonderful conifers that put on unbelievable spring shows like: Pinus contorta 'taylors sunburst' 3-4 WEEKS!!!of yellow new growth. See Photo. I could go on forever... red leaf japanese maple...bloodgood, atropurpureum, emperor(supposed to be the hardiest of all, emperor I or II) the debate with crabapples will always be...ARE THE WONDERFUL FLOWERS WORTH THE TROUBLE OF THE UNATTRACTIVE DISEASE RIDDEN FOLIAGE...AND IS ANYTHING WORTH SPRAYING IN MY GARDEN TO CONTROL DISEASE?...my honest opinion, there's plenty of wonderful plants that have outstanding characteristics that NEVER need to be sprayed. Blacklab Here is a link that might be useful:
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Comments (22)
Thanks again everybody, ...we love to share our birds here. :) Carol23- We shoot hand-held (in Manual mode) with 3 Canon compact superzooms... an S3-IS, an S5-IS, and an SX30-IS. These are similar, inexpensive cameras and photographing wildlife of any kind with them can be challenging. But we have had a lot of practice and find they suit our needs as backyard birders on a budget. :) Kenn Here is a link that might be useful: Kenn & Temple - Backyard Birders
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Cedar Waxwings
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Comments (2)
I had them eating apple blossoms, they also took berries still green, like honey berries and sour cherries. They could stay for a while as long they have a steady food source. I had them nest in evergreens, usually they time it when the berries are ready. Konrad
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rachel_frome_ky
17 years ago
Konrad, gorgeous photos! I've also seen them doing that, but never photographed it
prairie_love
17 years ago
Beautiful pictures. I really love the one with three in a row.
bluebirdbabe
17 years ago
Those r some of the most breath taking photo's I have seen!! just stunning!!!

Karen
JoanMN
17 years ago
What wonderful shots!!
JoanMN
sowngrow (8a) G
17 years ago
Very nice! I especially like being able to see the red and yellow on them, up close.
Robin
hawkeye_wx
17 years ago
Today I saw one of the waxwings again while working in the garden. It and a couple robins were in the neighbor's tree eating serviceberries. I now have to assume they have been in the serviceberry trees in past years and I just didn't notice them.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you all!

Now.. got the icing on the cake, this pink flowering crab-apple tree I have grown from a seed.

..

Konrad
lisa11310
17 years ago
Konrad, I really think you should submitt the pic of the 3 in a tree to the photo of the month, you know we will all vote for you. I have had them come through my yard a couple time a year but this year I am especially blessed with a Waxwing nest!!! Very rare. They have become regular bathers at my pond.
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank you for your consideration, Lisa!
I'm glad you like # 2 ..I know it's hard to get 3 birds in one shot, these guy's look kind of cool but I have a issue a bit
with sharpness, it seems everything has to be dead on to land one.
I can see you have a bird paradise at your place, perhaps you can share some of yours?

This one from yesterday, my wife did with her point and shoot camera. This camera does a amazing job in low light,...evening around 8.30 and cloudy.

Konrad
lisa11310
17 years ago
OH, I see what you mean. This must be more of a tech thing, using the camera to it's limits? They want to see every tip of every feather and give most of the credit to the camera? I just think that pic is a work of art, I think the "soft edges" enhances the beauty of the birds and the flowers. May I print it and hang it? I could send you a few very bad pictures of my little pond, never seem to be able to get the brids that love it so much to pose for me. Wax wings, Indigos, Tanagers, Orioles, Towhees, Cardinals, Gold Finches, Grosbeaks, Dees, Robins, all make a very colorful splash along with all the flowers blooming around it and the goldies IN it..
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
17 years ago
Sure, you can print it, let me know if you need a larger file size.
You sure have a large verities of birds! ...thanks again.

Konrad
kenn3d
17 years ago
Beautiful captures Konrad,

Love the colors in the crab-apple shots. :)

Kenn
cukesalad
14 years ago
I realize this is a really old thread and that you probably won't reply, but that photo is gorgeous! I can't believe that was taken with a point and shoot. I have a nice Canon and am always shooting in manual mode and yet this shot rivals anything I've ever shot. What the heck kind of camera does she have?? All the photos on this thread are beautiful. Just saw a flock of waxwings in my neighbor's crab apple this afternoon. :)
Konrad___far_north
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you all!
Cuke,..the camera is a Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Hope you can capture them soon!

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