Cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) are one of the best sights to see when looking for birds. They love berries, so we see them chowing down in many of the trees in Central Park. They are usually seen in flocks, but occasionally one will show up first to “test the waters” if it is bath time.
Cedar waxwing, Central Park, November 20, 2021
Cedar waxwing, Central Park, April 2, 2022
Cedar waxwing letting a European starling know that the waxwings had booked the spa and the starling should wait. Central Park, May 26, 2021
Ahhh! Cedar waxwing at the bathing rock, the Pool, Central Park, May 26, 2021
More bathing at the bathing rock, the Pool, Central Park, May 26, 2021.
This cedar waxwing was seen from the blind on the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens.
Cedar waxwing, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, East Pond, August 4, 2019
Spa Time for Cedar Waxwings!
I must have done something right on June 4 (2016). Oh, what joy when I saw a flock of at least eight cedar waxwings splash about in the stream just north of Laupot Bridge in Central Park! And even more joy when they came down to bathe, and I was able to catch their ablutions on video. This, my friends, is the kind of Silly Video I'm trying to make when I go out every day with my camera. I hope you have as much fun watching this as I had watching the waxwings.
The music, which fits as perfectly as I could hope, is by Chopin.
Just a little postscript: As I headed out of the park for Lincoln Center, the sky opened and I got soaked. I wasn't nearly as happy to be wet as the waxwings appeared to be.
Cedar Waxwings
A Central Park friend calls cedar waxwings the drag queens of the bird world. They are certainly flamboyantly beautiful. I look forward to seeing them, and love watching them take a bath.
These first shots are from July 1 and 2, 2015, at the stream north of Laupot Bridge.
