Cedar Waxing girls and boys look alike. This is not uncommon in the bird world. I guess it’s not important that we know the girls from the boys. They know.
Notice those bright red tips on the secondary wing feathers. They are hard and wax-like. And that’s where the last part of the bird’s name comes from. The first part comes from part of their diet: cedar cones.
I took this photo last summer in Glacier National Park, hiking a trail through some woods that had burned in a forest fire a few years back. I’d long wanted to get a good picture of a cedar waxwing, and they’re pretty uncommon where I live, so I was thrilled to get this shot. So much so that I put this picture on the cover of my 2019 calendar. It’s also the picture for this month.
I’ve got a few strong candidates for cover photo for next year’s calendar. I’ll start taking orders around Labor Day. I hope you’ll want a few!