First time I’ve seen these guys. I seem to have a small flock of cedar waxwings in my backyard! This is the only one I could get a photo of, not sure if it’s a girl or boy. I think the boys are usually brighter yellow so I’ll call this one a girl. She seemed to like the holly berries.
I thought it was the Evening Grosbeaks coming back, they have a very similar call. But boy, can those guys get LOUD! When you have a tree full of them, it’s almost deafening.
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She’s exquisite! I love the eye markings; so defined. Reminds me of the pretty little masks that mousebirds have.
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I was very excited when I saw one perched on my back deck earlier that day. In all the years I’ve lived here I’ve never seen them here before.
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Just lovely! And y’know, if you save these pix till December, any one of them would make a beautiful Yule card – the holly is so bright & vivid, nobody has to know you took the photo closer to the summer solstice than that of the winter.
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I hadn’t thought of that, thanks! That’s a good idea. I so often pick cards with birds on them anyway to send for holiday greetings, this would be right in keeping with my unintentional theme.
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Lovely! 🙂
I haven’t seen those particular birds up close. I do have an array of sparrows, crows, and ravens visiting my balcony.
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Ooo, lucky you with the ravens! 🙂 One of these days I’ll get a good shot of my hummingbirds when they’re around.
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In all my life, I’ve never seen a hummingbird in NJ, but they sell the feeders in all the stores – I don’t know if I scare them off with my loud voice, or if they have just recently started commuting this way, or if the marketers are scamming clueless Jerseyans…
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I think there are some varieties of hummingbirds in most states now. I did a quick search, apparently Rufous and Ruby-Throated hummingbirds both visit NJ.
Hummingbirds in New Jersey
I bet if you put out a feeder you’d start seeing them. 🙂 They can be fearless. If you go stand outside near the feeder in a red shirt, they will fly right up to you, practically look you in the eye and try to figure out if you’re a food source. It’s pretty funny.
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Fancy that! I was resisting getting a hummingbird feeder in the Catskills b/c they also attract bears with a sweet tooth, but that’s (slightly) less of an issue in NJ, so maybe I’ll hang one up and see what happens.
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