The Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) passes through the village in October as it heads south to its winter habitat and again in March when it flies back to its breeding grounds in the boreal forests of the north. Some winter in the southern United States; others travel as far as Costa Rica and Panama for the winter.
Traveling in madcap flocks, Bohemians stop along their migration route to fill up on berries, cherries and other fruit, and their appearance makes me smile, a fine thing indeed this year. The birds fly jubilantly around the old crabapple tree, gleefully dance from branch to branch, make crude comments to the nearby crows and starlings, laugh at their own jokes and pelt each other with frozen crabapples. Getting clear photos of them is quite an exercise because they never stop moving.
Bohemian Waxwings are mainly fruit eaters. In colder weather, they munch on mountain ash berries, hawthorn berries, rosehips, high bush cranberries and other freeze dried fruit. In late winter, and early spring, it is not unusual for the birds to become tipsy after consuming fermented berries. They fly around in aimless circles, stagger about, have trouble making landings and even fall out of trees.
I thought these rowdy visitors were Cedar Waxwings until I noticed their peachy colored faces, rufous (red) undertail coverts and white wing streaks, also their scarlet-tipped secondaries, often rather difficult to see. By the time the birds departed, the old crabapple tree was bare, and the deep snowdrifts in the front yard were peppered with bits and pieces of frozen crabapple. Along came a whole murder of crows and made short work of the leavings.
Bohemians are seasonal harbingers, and their appearance in the front yard in March often means that springtime is on its way, but this year, they should have waited a few weeks longer. It is still cold and snowy here. We have a long way to go.
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