Cedar Waxwings
- Thread starter HawkinNative
- Start date
Over the last couple years we use to see lots of yellow rumped warblers in my backyard in the spring. This past year I saw very few. I hardly ever see waxwings in my travels in Jersey though.
The most reliable public locations for me for Cedar Waxwings and Yellow-rumped are IBSP, DTSP, Colliers Mills, Whitesbog, Brig & Sandy Hook. They are around this year, but seem to become more abundant as winter progresses; probably do to the availability of food. Hoping for another visit by the Bohemians
A couple of spots at IBSP; walk along Rescue Rd(thats the left for official vehicles, off the southern kayak launch access) & the trail to the blind across from the access to the first bathing beach, but anywhere with a good stand of cedars has the potential as they move around quite a bit. The Bohemians were in these locations a couple of years ago mixed in with the Cedar WW's. Twas the year we had hundreds of them along Lake Champlain near where we had our cabin.
But this is the year for Snowy Owls, at least 9 have been reported in the state, recently one down in Bivalve, another at Stony Harbor Point. I had one at IBSP before Christmas.
But this is the year for Snowy Owls, at least 9 have been reported in the state, recently one down in Bivalve, another at Stony Harbor Point. I had one at IBSP before Christmas.
We haven't seen any in our yard. We have a flowering tree (crab apple) that usually attracts them in decent numbers. The tree is covered in the berries they eat, but we haven't seen any Cedar Waxwings lately. None in the woods near home either.
A short walk at IBSP yesterday. Two flocks of Cedar Waxwings, hundreds of Yellow-rumped and the Snowy is where I left it. The usuals in the inlet.
Friends tell me the Bohemians are in upstate NY again, perhaps the cold will bring some further south.
Friends tell me the Bohemians are in upstate NY again, perhaps the cold will bring some further south.
Island Beach State Park, it's south of Seaside at the end of the Island. Bohemians are another strain of waxwings
IBSP is Island Beach State Park. Bohemians are part of the Waxwing family, very similar to Cedar Waxwings. They occasional make forays south, two years ago they were all over the northern Adirondacks and some came into NJ, a small group into IBSP
A link to Cornell's site.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Bohemian_Waxwing.html
Strange plce to find waxwings, I always thought they could be found in the woods like bluejays and carinals.
Sue , My Brother Piker56 and I see then down at the Brigantine refuge off Rt 9 also along with Blue birds
Not really, they devour cedar berries, IBSP has a lot of cedars and very little in the way of disturbances. You would be amazed at the variety of wildlife life over there.
Gray Fox
Not meaning to get off The Bohemians, a new breed of Punk Rockers from Canada, we saw a Gray Fox meandering along the road at IBSP back in the 70's---it was beautiful! So yes, it is surprising what you will find there. I've recently seen flocks of hundreds of Robins down here in Florida. I have had Cedar Waxwings here in my back-yard during the winter as I have lots of holly bushes. The Robins love the fruit of the Camphor tree, a non-native and very invasive tree that is serving some good purpose, but unfortunately the Robins are serving another--distributing seeds all over my yard, which in the spring raises up a crop of Camphor seedlings!!! The root of the camphor tree smells exactly like sassafrass. They both belong to the Lauraceous or Laurel family of trees.
Not meaning to get off The Bohemians, a new breed of Punk Rockers from Canada, we saw a Gray Fox meandering along the road at IBSP back in the 70's---it was beautiful! So yes, it is surprising what you will find there. I've recently seen flocks of hundreds of Robins down here in Florida. I have had Cedar Waxwings here in my back-yard during the winter as I have lots of holly bushes. The Robins love the fruit of the Camphor tree, a non-native and very invasive tree that is serving some good purpose, but unfortunately the Robins are serving another--distributing seeds all over my yard, which in the spring raises up a crop of Camphor seedlings!!! The root of the camphor tree smells exactly like sassafrass. They both belong to the Lauraceous or Laurel family of trees.
I'm surprised that Piker and I didn't see any at Winslow when we went the other week. There are some of the largest Holly trees I've ever seen back there.
I know very little about birds other than I like them around me. Today, in my yard I saw a little bird about the size of a warbler with a shocking orange cap on his head. The closest I could come to in the Kaufman guide is a Golden Crowned Kinglet (Male). He was light grey with a few black stripes. As usual, he would'nt stand still for identification. He was very flighty, moving up and down the branches like an acrobat.
I'm not surprised, there was a nice populationof Red Foxes there, until the mange did them in a couple years back. They are starting to recover though. Too many folks were feeding them stuff they shouldn't have.
Hey Bob,
It's easy to get hooked on Birding , back in the early 70's Furball1 And I saw a Red Tailed Hawk, and we've been hooked ever since, I have a nice sized Life list and most of them I saw right here in South Jersey, and a few in Florida, Which is a Great state to get some very different looking birds. Keep at it and Don't get frustrated when they won't stay still LOL! That's part of the fun
It's easy to get hooked on Birding , back in the early 70's Furball1 And I saw a Red Tailed Hawk, and we've been hooked ever since, I have a nice sized Life list and most of them I saw right here in South Jersey, and a few in Florida, Which is a Great state to get some very different looking birds. Keep at it and Don't get frustrated when they won't stay still LOL! That's part of the fun