(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Daily Bucket: Friday Sequence, A Little Twitch for A Bohemian Waxwing [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-17 I first heard of the presence of a Bohemian Waxwing in my area from a report in an Audubon app that I have. As I expected when I arrived at the site, there were about a dozen others searching for it. We never did see the Bohemian that day, but we did see a lot of Cedar Waxwings feasting on berries and bugs. I took advantage of the sunshine and active waxwings as they searched for food in a flock of about a dozen. Cedar Waxwing eating berries. Ms. JG likes this because it looks like an Ikebana design. Didn’t like that one. Down the hatch. see the dribble Now for a drink to wash those berries down. Now for the meat course. At first I couldn’t get the bug focused at the same time as the waxwing. Then I got both in focus but not with the waxwing going for it. I was amazed by the acrobatic flying as they chased the bugs. see the bug Finally got the one I was after from the beginning. Which to choose? Like an eagle after a flock of Coots. There’s the one I want. They even signal for a right turn :) Here’s the bird behind the mask, tongue ready for more food. What’s that you say? You want to hear about the Bohemian Waxwing. OK. Here is comes. I returned to the same spot the next day, but it was raining off and on and there weren’t as many people searching for the Bohemian Waxwing. I saw a couple checking their phone and then looking around the park. I engaged them in conversation, and they told me an eBird report had just come through with a pin on a map showing its position. They didn’t know how to get to that location. I know all the back trails due to my Cooper’s Hawk monitoring. There were four nests last year that I checked nearly daily. I knew a shortcut to the location marked on the map. The three of us hustled to the location, and as we neared, two other birders waved us to them. Of course, the Bohemian had just flown off, but we waited patiently for it to return, hearing tales of what the birders had seen. The story continues in photos. The first sighting was from far away and in the branches. But at least I had a recognizable photo. Soon, the Bohemian joined the other waxwings at a bush near us. By now there were half a dozen people on the lookout. Now we’re talking. Getting a closeup. The rain and cloudy skies precluded a stunning, colorful photo. A little post processing brings out some of the colors, but the tail colors just wouldn’t pop. Another pose. It joined in the berry binge. I never saw it going after insects. Sir, you have a bit of berry on your lip. The raindrops on your face are a nice touch, though. I gag whenever I see this big of a berry going down the throat. I like the way they pick off the berries. The Bohemian right, Cedar on top and an American Robin for size comparison. Bohemian Waxwings average ¾ of an inch longer but are up to twice the weight of a Cedar Waxwing. A Cedar Waxwing to end it so you can compare it with the last Bohemian Waxwing photo. It was a successful twitch. I am now signed up for the eBird alerts in my area. Who knows what the next twitch will bring? Please add your comments and photos if you have any. Sequences are prized as well as stories of twitches you have experienced. Actually, all comments are prized. Join me. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/17/2152363/-Daily-Bucket-Friday-Sequence-A-Little-Twitch-for-A-Bohemian-Waxwing Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/