In the middle of June, while looking for birds in the Arboretum, I stopped at a bench along Azalea Way. When I looked up I noticed a Cedar Waxwing landing on a branch.
It simply sat there, not feeding, not preening, not chasing insects. I wondered if I was disturbing it. I moved away. However, I kept watching while hoping that its unusual behavior was an unintended tip.
After a while, the Waxwing flew into a tree and disappeared. I maintained my distance, while circling around the tree, until I found a small "window" among the leaves.
There was the Waxwing and its nest. I could not see if there were eggs or young in the nest.
Here is an example of a Cedar Waxwing nest from a couple of years earlier. In this case, a friend spotted a pair building the nest. Much later, in the Fall, after I was certain the nest was abandoned, I went back to photograph the nest and discovered the unhatched eggs. I am guessing the eggs were less than one inch long.
I choose to visit this year's nest infrequently and to keep my distance. I did not want to lead any potentially predatory species, such as American Crows, Stellar's Jays, Cooper's Hawks, Barred Owls, Common Ravens, or Gray Squirrels, to the nest.
Whenever I was in the area one or two adults, the parents I assumed, were often perched close to the top of the nearby tree.
Waxwings get their name from the red wax-like tips that most often grow on the ends of their secondary (inner) flight feathers. I can see five under the left wing, and one visible below the right wing. Could the slight reddish marks on the yellow of the tail also be red waxy tips? Birds of the World suggests it is possible.
Near the end of June, I spotted the adult, still sitting in the nest. I wondered if the eggs had hatched. Was the parent warming and protecting the young?
By July 9th, the wide open mouths of the young were obvious, brightly colored targets.
The tiny wings of the young were only visible momentarily. They waved their wings, obviously excited by the possibility of food. The white sheathing surrounding the developing flight feathers made it obvious their wings were not yet flight-worthy.
Just five days later, the young were perched on the edge of the nest, gazing out at the world. They were now easily recognizable as Waxwings.
When young birds are nearly full-sized, but still unable to fly, they are particularly vulnerable. At this point, they offer a predator the maximum nutrition for the least amount of effort. The thickness of the tree's foliage was their only protection.
Three days later, I checked the nest. It was empty. No sign of the young or the adults in the tree. Had they fledged or been converted to food? At least, there were no feathers on the ground. I began a wider search.
Further to the west, approximately halfway between Azalea Way and the Loop Trail was a slender standing snag. I had noticed that the parents sometimes perched there before returning to the nest with food. Seeing them sitting in the snag was reassuring. They were, more or less, facing my direction. I wondered if that meant their young were close by?
With help from a sharp-eyed Arboretum visitor, we finally spotted all three of the young. As it turned out, they were sitting almost directly over my head. Since the nest was east of Azalea Way and the young were now in a tree on the west side of the path, it was clear they had safely fledged!
There are many clues to distinguishing young Waxwings from adults. Their light colored bills and their short, stubby tails are two good examples. However, the most obvious clue is the meandering, mostly vertical stripes on their chests.
The adults would find food, return to the tall snag, survey the situation, and then dive headfirst off the snag. They dropped without opening their wings, apparently to maximize acceleration. Then mid-flight, they would turn, abruptly, and zip between the leaves to deliver food to their young, hidden inside the tree.
Black Twinberry was the only small black fruit, in large quantities and close by, that I could find. Dozens of these plants were added along Arboretum Creek during the installation of the Loop Trail in 2017. The Twinberries have flourished. Each plant provides hundreds of small black berries. It will be interesting to watch and see if the abundance of fruit ultimately turns into an abundance of Cedar Waxwings in the Arboretum.
I was amazed to find the parent regurgitating and providing a single berry for each of the three young and then, without leaving, repeating the exact same sequence of berry delivery to each individual fledgling.
I don't know if Waxwings can count, but they sure seem to understand about providing all of their young with adequate food.
Finally, when one refused a berry the parent provided the balance of the berries to the other two. It appeared that the adult could carry 8-10 berries in their esophagus, without crushing or mangling the fruit.
By the way, most species of young songbirds birds are fed a diet with a large percentage of insects. (Caterpillars being especially beneficial to young birds - see the Going Native section below). In general, insects provide excellent nutrition that supports the demands of growing bird bodies. Waxwing young are a curious exception to the rule. They do eat insects, however they can thrive on a diet with significantly more fruit than most other species.
On All About Birds, I read that if a Cowbird lays an egg in a Waxwing nest, the adult Waxwings may incubate the egg and feed the Cowbird like one of their own. However, the young Cowbird is likely to starve on a diet with so much fruit.
"Click Here" to read a post that ends up discussing the curious egg-laying habits of Cowbirds.
Afterward, the young would stretch and preen. It is amazing to me that this photo of a young one with functional flight feathers was taken just eight days after the photo with only white sheaths. Fast-growing flight feathers are no doubt a critical success factor enabling their survival.
The next day, the young moved one tree to the north, while still getting parental food deliveries. The following day, I could not find any Waxwings in the area. The adults were not perched in the tall standing snag, and neither I nor my Merlin Bird ID application could hear any Waxwings. I suspect they moved closer to a new source of food. Perhaps the young are already feeding themselves.
In future years, I sure hope this family returns and grows into a large colony of Cedar Waxwings nesting and reproducing in the Arboretum!
Have a great day on Union Bay...where nature lives in the city!
Larry
Going Native:
Each of us who breathes the air, drinks water, and eats food should be helping to protect our environment. Local efforts are most effective and sustainable. Native plants and trees encourage the largest diversity of lifeforms because of their long intertwined history with our local environment and the local native creatures. Even the microbes in the soil are native to each local landscape.
I hope we can inspire ourselves, our neighbors, and local businesses to respect native flora and support native wildlife at every opportunity. I have learned that our most logical approach to native trees and plants (in order of priority) should be to:
1) Learn and leave established native flora undisturbed.2) Remove invasive species and then wait to see if native plants begin to grow without assistance. (When native plants start on their own, then these plants or trees are likely the most appropriate flora for the habitat.)3) Scatter seeds from nearby native plants in a similar habitat.4) If you feel you must add a new plant, then select a native plant while considering how the plant fits with the specific habitat and understanding the plant's logical place in the normal succession of native plants.
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Keystone native plants are an important new idea. Douglas Tallamy, in the book "Nature's Best Hope, " explains that caterpillars supply more energy to birds, particularly young birds in their nests, than any other plant eater. He also mentions that 14% of our native plants, ie Keystone Plants, provide food for 90% of our caterpillars. This unique subset of native plants and trees enables critical moths, butterflies, and their caterpillars that provide food for the great majority of birds, especially when feeding their young.
Note: Flowering plants and trees, i.e. those pollinated by bees, are also included as Keystone Plants.
This video explains the native keystone plant concept in more detail:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5cXccWx030
The Top Keystone Genera in our ecoregion i.e. Plants and trees you might want in your yard:
Additional content available here:
https://wos.org/wos-wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Native-Plant-Resources-10-7-22.pdf
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In this area, I typically display at least one photo with each post to challenge us to know our native lifeforms.
1)
2)
3)
4)
Which of these four fruits are native to Washington State?
Can you associate each berry or fruit with the correct name from the following list?
Their names in random order are:
A) Red Huckleberry
B) Cotoneastor
C) Black Twinberry
D) Red Elderberry
Scroll down for the answers.
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The Answers:
The last three are native to Washington State.
1 = B - Cotoneastor
2 = D - Red Elderberry
3 = C - Black Twinberry
4 = A - Red Huckleberry
Bonus Question: Which of these species have fruit so delicious that it seldom lasts through (or even into) summer?
Bonus Answer: Red Elderberry and Red Huckleberry
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The Email Challenge:
In response, I have set up my own email list. With each post, I will manually send out an announcement. If you would like to be added to my personal email list please send me an email requesting to be added. Something like:
Larry, Please add me to your personal email list.
My email address is:
LDHubbell@comcast.net
Thank you!
FYI: I have begun using gmail to publish my posts since it allows more email addresses in a single batch. However, it still takes multiple days to send out the notices of a new post. Thank you for your patience.
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The Comment Challenge:
Bottom Line:
If you write a long comment, please, copy it before hitting enter. Then, if the comment function fails to record your information, you can send the comment directly to me using email.
My email address is:
LDHubbell@comcast.net
Larry
