Thawing

It's nice to see signs of spring here and there. These are shots I took hiking with Double D in between birding field trips.

Two boaters at Greenwood Park. I really want to learn to kayak or canoe the waterways. It looks like such a peaceful activity.

Fishing pier at Greenwood

Can any birders out there help identify this hawk?

Double D spotted him on the street light as we were returning home late one afternoon.
He quickly pulled into an adjacent parking lot like a well-trained birding assistant should. :)

Rickety bridge at Waddill Wildlife Refuge

Wildflower at Waddill

Trillium, also at Waddill

We had a not so nice surprise with our Honda when the engine light came on over the weekend. Apparently, the unseasonably cold weather caused squirrels to climb underneath the car and chew the wires--a $630 repair. I'm sure this is payback for all the Pam I sprayed on the bird feeding station. Grrrrr. Our pest control person came out and put sticky boards underneath both cars. I really hope they stay away because I don't want to deal with that mess.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday. Thank you, Stewart!

More Zorro

Cedar Waxwings at Waddill Wildlife Refuge on March 1, 2013. The last CW is from my back yard on March 6, 2013.

As I was leaving Waddill I noticed this cute little birdhouse nailed to a pine tree.
If only a bird could have been perched at the table!

Double D was kind enough to fetch a ladder so I could get up higher.
They finally found our berry-laden holly trees, so I have a feeling that by tomorrow afternoon
there will be no berries left. I hope they don't get drunk and plow into the window like one did last year.

I thought today would be different...

I was all set to post something―anything―that didn't have a bird in it. I'm boring my own self with bird shots. But the sun was shining so brightly that it practically begged me to go out and find some birds to shoot. You really have to take the opportunities when they present themselves.

Early this morning I found myself googling "wildlife areas in Baton Rouge". First on the list was something I had not seen before and was not on any of the local birding web sites: Waddill Wildlife Refuge. It's about 9 miles south of my house, so Bluebonnet Swamp now has some competition. And it's free!

The first thing I saw when I walked up was a red-headed woodpecker. Score! The next thing I came upon was a flock of Cedar Waxwings. They were eating some tiny red berries―I'm assuming holly berries. I photographed them for quite some time with glorious light, but the wind gave me heck. What's with all the wind lately? I managed to pull off several decent shots, so you will be seeing these guys for some time to come! I didn't want to flood you with them today, and besides, I'm tired from being out there for four hours. During that time I slipped in mud, catching my camera before it landed in the muck, almost fell into the Comite River because of mud, and got lost briefly on a trail giving myself a mild panic attack. Overall, it was a great day!

I thought I'd come back to them after my hike. Two hours later the berries were gone.
They had completely stripped every tree along the bank! Glad I took so many shots while I had the chance.

Cedar Waxwings have a smooth, silky appearance. They love fruit from cedar, juniper, serviceberry, dogwood, and hawthorn. Their call is a high-pitched dzeeee, sort of like electrical equipment giving off a high frequency sound. They are similar to the Starling in size and shape, so if you see a flock like that, look closely―it might just be the Cedar Waxwings!