Shhhh... (we're going into the Swamp)

Yes, we are going into the swamp.  Don't worry, we are going in a kayak.  We are looking for dragonflies, but we will probably get distracted.  That is the way of swamps.

Please read this in a whisper (even if you are reading it 'in your head'). That is how you should talk in a swamp, so you can listen for things like the sounds the cattails make when the wind stirs them.

It is mid-morning, so it's not too hot yet.  Dragonflies should be still, waiting for the day to warm up before they fly.  So, we'll need to search for them.  Keep your eye out for them on possible perches!

Meanwhile, the king of the swamp will keep his eye on us, and stay at the far end of the swamp.  Do you see him there... way in the distance?

 He's watching.  But let's try not to get distracted by birds.  We are looking for dragonflies.

None here.

Or here.  Though it is a fascinating miniature 'world' on a fallen log.  I wonder how many kinds of plants a botanist could identify in that small area of the swamp?

We startle two Wood Ducks, who then use their feet to paddle as fast as they can for cover.  Look at the wake they left behind!

Snapping pictures from a kayak can be challenging, and I almost deleted the next one.  Then on close inspection of it, I saw the ducks had not quite disappeared into the safety of the cattails.  Can you pick them out?

We've been very slowly floating along, only paddling once and awhile.  Now,  I'll push our kayak into some vegetation to anchor the boat for awhile.  Maybe some dragonflies will come flying by.  Instead I hear the high-pitched buzzes of Cedar Waxwings.  Where are they?

There are three Waxwings in this photo!

As they get used to our presence, they land on perches closer and closer.

They fly out and back, in a manner called 'hawking' as they catch and eat flying insects.  One eventually feels comfortable enough to preen on a limb near the kayak.

There must be tiny insects flying about, but I still haven't seen a single dragonfly!  There are other things to look at though.  I enjoy unique-looking reflections...

...and spend a good bit of time trying to get a focused photo of the tiny Bladderwort flowers.  They are only about 2" tall.

I spend more time taking a panoramic photo of the swamp, looking in the direction of our house.

I like to look at this clump of driftwood (can it be called driftwood in a swamp?) from our house, now we can see it up close from the kayak.

I keep looking for dragonflies, really I do! But there were none on that picturesque spot either.

As we float by one of the Wood Duck boxes, I wonder if there was a nest in it this year.  

I'll find out next winter when I can walk on the ice to check inside.  Now it's time to head back toward the dock.

I don't use the dock anymore (I don't think I need to explain why!), but it's still where I put the boat in and out of the water. 

But wait!  Something goes zooming by and lands on a muddy pile of 'stuff'.  

Finally, a dragonfly!  It's a pretty one, too.... red or would you say it's orange?  I don't know much about dragonflies except that I think they are neat.  My brother said he would come to visit if I found a rare one.  Well, brother??? 

I'd say, "to be continued" but that will remain to be seen!  






 

Ten Reasons to Love Cedar Waxwings

Cedar waxwings didn't use to be one of my favorite birds but this past year they have really grown on me! I think that I used to judge them by what I considered their rather bandit-like appearance -- because of their black mask.  This year seemed to be a particularly good year for seeing Cedar Waxwings around our place, so I had lots of opportunities to observe them.  And what I saw, I liked!

Here's a list of the top ten things I like about Cedar Waxwings:

1.   They really are beautiful ('bad boy' mask and all).  They have lovely coloration, with their sleek golden brownish body, gray wings, creamy yellow belly, white undertail coverts, and yellow tips to their tails.  And then there's their namesake bright-red waxy droplets on their wings.  A very unusual but pretty combination.

 

2.  This time of year, I'm especially thankful for this reason - the fact that they stay with us all year.  While many of our other birds have already left to spend the cold months in places warmer and sunnier than northeastern Pennsylvania,  Cedar Waxwings are here for the duration.

Three of them eating tiny crabapples last December after a snowstorm.

3. I love to watch them flying over our swamp in the summertime, catching insects while on the wing.  They have their own unique aeronautics... different than the swallows-- graceful and yet slightly awkward, too!  We had quite a flock of them this year and I enjoyed watching their flight shows.

They didn't seem to mind me watching too much-- even sharing the dock with me at times, between insect-catching flights.

Notice this one doesn't have any red on its wings.

4.  Their musicality.  Not that they have a lovely song, but that they are mostly always making sounds.  Their sounds are characterized by people who describe bird sounds with human words as "high, thin whistles" or a "trilled brzeee", neither of which sound all that pleasant, do they?  But, somehow, it's just nice to hear them.  They call to each other or just sing while on the wing.  Sweet.  (you can listen here, although I recommend skipping the second recording... it's very high pitched!)

5.  Speaking of sweet... their courtship.  A male will sit close to a female and pass a fruit, insect, or flower bud to her.  She will take it and then pass it back to him.  They may pass it back and forth a few times and then the female will eat it.  Dating... waxwing style.  I got to watch a pair do this and take photos of them this spring.  You have to look carefully, but you can see them passing a tiny item back and forth in the next 3 photos.  I believe it was a wild cherry bud, as they were sitting in a cherry tree which was just barely in bud.

Pretty cool huh?!

6.  Next, their smartness in choice of nesting sites.  I knew where two Cedar Waxwing nests were this summer -- both were so well hidden that if I had not seen them flying in and out I would never have known they were there.  That's one of them in the next photo.

I managed to get one photo where you can just barely see the bird, upside-down, feeding the young ones.  The top arrow in the next photo points to the adults' yellow tail band and the bottom arrow to its white undertail feathers, sticking out of the nest.

Here's the nest as it appears now that all the leaves are off the tree.

They choose the spot with the most 'sucker' limbs in the whole maple tree, so it was really hidden!

The tree is right on the edge of our yard.

The small 'dot' at the upper right center of the tree is the nest.  The other nest I know of was in a nearby tall White Pine tree-- another very safe location for raising a family of baby birds.

7.  The serendipitous nature of seeing Cedar Waxwings.   While this is somewhat true of birds in general (you never know what you are going to see), unlike Chickadees which you expect to see on any walk in the woods, or sparrows you figure will be flitting around in the brush-- with waxwings you just never know when they're going to appear.  They tend to travel around a fairly large area looking for fruit or berries.

8.  Their sociability.  Except when they are nesting, they usually are in groups.  They just seem to like each others company.  While I've read that they can form flocks of a hundred or more, the group I see here usually numbers somewhere around 20.  I took-a-chance photo of part of a flock in a tree recently and then counted all of them I could find in the photo.  I'll let you have a chance to count in the first photo before I show you how many I found.

Okay, did you find them all?

I counted 14.

9.  Their ability to fend for themselves.  No relying on human-provided sunflower seeds or suet for them!  They'll eat almost any kind of berry or fruit in the winter or insects in the summer.

Here's one eating a euonymus berry

Three Cedar Waxwings in a juniper bush, the one on the top is popping down a juniper berry.

10.  And the final reason I like Cedar Waxwings...  I like that there is a little mystery to them.  No one seems to know why they have those red waxy droplets on their wing-tips... or why some do and some don't.  Well, God knows... maybe I'll ask him someday!

PS - Sara, I dedicate this post to you, since Cedar Waxwings have already long been one of your favorite birds!

Sittin' on the Dock of the Swamp

Sung to the tune of... well, I think you know the tune!  (with apologies to Otis Redding).

Sittin’ in the afternoon sun
I won’t be sittin’ when the evening comes
Cause my camera battery won’t last that long
And mosquitos would be drivin’ me home, yeah

 I’m sitting on the dock of the swamp
Watchin’ the dragonflies play, ooh
I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the swamp
Wastin’ time

I left my home a short distance away
Headed for where green herons play
Cuz I’ve got my binoculars and my SX-50
Waiting to see what’s gonna come my way

Green Heron

Cedar Waxwing 'hawking' for insects to eat

So, I’m just gon’ sit on the dock of the swamp
Watchin’ the wood ducks pass by, ooh
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the swamp
Wastin’ time

Looks like things might change
If a board gives way I won’t remain the same
But I can’t worry about that now
So I guess I’ll remain, listen

Sittin’ here resting my bones
Not lonely cause it's so beautiful  and it’s home
Only a few hundred yards I roam
Just to make this dock my own, now

I’m just gon’ sit on the dock of the swamp
Watchin’ hawks and listenin’ to marsh sounds, ooh
Sittin’ on the dock of the swamp
Wastin’ time

Red-tailed Hawk (with snake?)

(Ends in harmonic whistling of birds, and also some squawking by the Green Heron)
Note: All photos were taken this afternoon except the one of the house (taken on a kayaking excursion) and the two of the cedar waxwing which were shot on July 17th but I couldn't resist putting them in.