"one.wax.wing"

This past Monday at noon outside our second floor office cafeteria window was perched a cedar wax wing in a wintry ornamental plum tree. Alone and lost to its world. Waxwings are normally birds that flock, very social away from their breeding grounds. It looked healthy. Hopefully tonight he will continue north and find cousins outside and beyond our cruel cold concrete canyon.

I think I saw my first cedar waxwing at Cape May, New Jersey years ago in the fall. The largest flock I ever saw had maybe a thousand birds.

Good luck, lost waxwing. In two months you will be farther north and in beautiful spring plumage, ready to breed and raise young. No TV or McDonald's for you. A steady diet of insects and berries. Eating slightly fermented berries by next fall. Waxwings can get drunk and they do it, socially.

Sampled from an usual suspects.