I watched a Bohemian Waxing landing in a bush beside my pathway. It then took off, but more arrived and filled a mountain ash. Waxwings travel in flocks and usually provide for good pictures as they feast on berries. So, I happily clicked away, paying more attention to exposure, focus, and composition than I did to the birds themselves.
It was only after looking at the pictures that I realized that only some of the birds in the flock were Bohemian Waxwings; most were Pine Grosbeaks. (Well, actually, I thought they were Red Crossbills, but Gary Davidson set me straight on that). The Pine Grosbeak is listed as uncommon in my neighbourhood, and occasional elsewhere in the West Kootenay. Maybe I can be forgiven for not recognizing it.
A Pine Grosbeak samples a berry from a mountain ash to give a picture of red on red.
Many of the berries show signs of having been chewed.
The same bird, but facing the other way and eating a berry.
A view from the back shows the white bars on the wings.
This one is a female.
And what about the Bohemian Waxwings that started it all? Well, here is one that was travelling with the grosbeaks.
Ummm. I hate to tell you that your birds are Pine Grosbeaks, not Red Crossbills, sorry
Ummm — With such great photos, Alistair, I feel I shouldn’t be asking questions.
But might that be a Cedar Waxwing, with the lemon-coloured belly?
One lonely little Cedar, reduced to travelling with the grosbeaks instead of with the huge winter flock of Bohemian Waxwings! Maybe he didn’t want to be lost in the crowd. He certainly stands out nicely here. (But I could be wrong — this could be a variant?)
Denise, there are two clues to it being a Bohemian: the time of year (suggestive, but not definitive), and the wings. The cedar lacks the yellow blotches on the boarder of the wings that are seen on this bird. It was not the only waxwing in the flock, but waxwings seemed to be outnumbered by grosbeaks.
Yes, there are alot of Pine Grosbeaks being reported. Aren’t they beautiful! Some years I don’t see them. The red is a particulary rich shade. The Waxwing has Dark rusty undertail coverts, which means Bohemian. The yellow could be the quality of light or reflection, but it does seem yellowish.
On Jan 15, 2012 at 2:30pm eastern standard time I saw a pair of Red pine grosbeak in my big bird feeder. Then I looked at them with my binoculars and could identify them as male and female Red Pine Grosbeaks. It is the first time I see these birds here in Markstay Ontario. What beautiful birds.