Since the Family Big Year started I have usually carried my Canon 7D with me on my daily walks regardless of where I go. You never know when something new and interesting might present itself. This past Tuesday I went against that routine and just headed out for a walk, only my iPhone 6S in hand. And, you guessed it, I came to regret that decision. In the middle of my walk a flock of small birds in a sparse tree on the center median of Kimball Road (for those of you that know the area) caught my attention. There were a couple dozen identical birds, all facing the same way (into the late afternoon sun) being joined every few seconds by more, in multiples, all lining up shoulder-to-shoulder on the available tree limbs. I am guessing at least seventy birds filled the upper limbs of one tree with some spilling over into an adjacent tree. Seeing such behavior was new for me, indicating a potential new species for the year, and my life. I took photos with my phone from across the street, and also from right below the trees. The birds did not seem to care about my presence.
Once home we poured over the iPhone photos. Zooming in to get clues was initially not that helpful due to the distance and low resolution. Plus with all of the birds aligned high up and looking in the same direction it was hard to pick up details. The Merlin Bird app gave several possibilities. Once we say a photo of Cedar Waxwings similarly perched as “our flock” we suspected we had our bird. I went back about an hour later with my 7D. The flock was gone, but four stragglers were there for me to photograph and confirm the id.
A return visit the next day at the same time found a smaller, but still impressive flock in the same tree… and the moon in a good spot. Now we have some good images of this very interesting bird.
Dean
The Big Year 2021 