Welcome the Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings are coming your way. These beautiful flock-oriented birds travel as a group and roam widely in winter in search of their prime food — berries. Lillian took this photo last March in Florida when a large number of waxwings were in our yard eating Wax Myrtle berries and the fruits from the native Cabbage Palm. Waxwings leave the southern half of the country in spring and return to their breeding range in the Appalachians, northern third of the U.S., and much of Canada. At our NH home we plant berry-producing trees and shrubs for Cedar Waxwings and other berry-eating birds. Our favorite spring tree is Amelanchier "Autumn Brillance", which produces berries in mid-summer, just when the waxwings are nesting.

Photo of Cedar Waxwing and Amelanchier © Lillian Stokes