Cedar Waxwings In Windy West Texas

In an earlier post, “Cedar Waxwings In A Migrating Flock“, I showed some pictures of Cedar Waxwings I took several years ago in Fort Worth. On a sunny but very windy April evening in 2017, I had the opportunity to photograph a small flock of Cedar Waxwings in a neighbor’s elm tree as these little guys were passing through West Texas on their way north. You can see the cinnamon, brown, and egg yolk yellow colors typical of this species. Also, notice the yellow band on the underside of the tail tip. These birds are beautifully colored. The wind was blowing hard enough that I didn’t photograph any birds from this encounter with their top knots extended.

In the second image, you can see the red wax band near the tip of the wing that gives these birds their common name. Scientifically, these birds are known as Bombycilla cedrorum in the family Bombycillidae. The latin in their scientific name translates to silky tail of the cedars.

In the third image, one bird is perched, and the other is attempting to fly into a gust of wind that is forcing the little fella to veer off his intended course. I watched several attempts by members of this flock to head into the wind only to be blown back to the tree or forced to veer and fly with the wind to another tree nearby. I was able to get these pictures because the wind was keeping the birds perched in the trees.