Cedar waxing 
Rusty Blackbird
This weekend,Richard and I saw a flock of cedar waxwings on the cedar trees by the trail at Panola Mountain (the cedar trees just beside the trail as you walk up from the Lake Alexander.) What beautiful birds! They only visit here in the winter, and are quite hard to see, they flit and flutter so quickly! That bright yellow on the tail is such a wonder when you see it, and the buff color, which may look drab in a photo is such a pretty shade! And look at that little face, like a bandit's mask!
Also, near the parking lot at Panola Mountain (near the Nature Center there), we saw a flock of robins with blackbirds...we don't normally see blackbirds so we had to look them up...they are rusty blackbirds. We instantly knew they were rusty blackbirds when we were able to hear them on this site.
Red shouldered hawk
Richard saw the red shouldered hawk in our own backyard! (I missed it, I was at work. Oh well!)
Richard took some photos but I got these off the internet so you can see them better.
Hey! I hope y'all like this cartoon as much as I do! I think I am better off when I am climbing one of my mountains or looking for birds! (Depression is a very serious issue. If medication is something that is needed for you, then make sure you take it. I found a very good video about living with depression, "the black dog". Understanding a problem makes us all better to cope with it.) Take care.
 |
| That's me on top of Stone Mountain from Jan. 21, 2013! |
Like the cartoon and the bird photos Kay. Every time I see folk exercising in a gym and paying serious money for it makes me happy. Cant beat a free walk in the great outdoors for endless variety and interest.
ReplyDeleteI love cedar waxwings. They come to eat our mountain ash tree's berries. It's always a pleasure to spot them -- they seem to travel in pairs?
ReplyDeleteI read that cedar waxwings are responsible for many of our fruit trees by spreading the seeds, sweet little birds, I love them.
DeleteWe only see them in flocks and only in the winter, as they are passing through Georgia, but I love them all the same.
Great pictures, as always, Kay! Love that cartoon- that is how I like to take my medicine, too! xo Diana
ReplyDeleteWish I could be on that beach right now...
DeleteNone of the birds are ones we see in the UK or New Zealand so it's good to see them on your post. I like the sentiment behind the cartoon but best of all I like the solitude with the clouds in the last photo.
ReplyDeleteRichard is a good photographer, don't you think? There were quite a few folks around, but Richard is able to capture my feeling of loving the mountain and feeling as if it belongs to only me.
DeleteYes Richard is a good photographer Kay. Being able to capture people's feelings is a real gift.
DeleteBirdsong is a better anti depressant than anything else, especially when wandering in the countryside!
ReplyDeleteYes indeed! And we knew those were blackbirds since we know the sound of blackbirds in England! Rather than being struck by how different birds are, I am amazed at the similarities. (An English robin singing in full song, how gorgeous!)
DeleteThe cedar waxwings are delightful to see. Once a whole flock of them gathered on the branches of the trees across the street from where I worked at the time, I think they were migrating. It was quite a sight to see. They are not something we normally see and I had to google them to find out what bird they were. I'd like to head to a warm beach right now. All this cold and snow is a bit overwhelming this winter.
ReplyDeleteVery often, cedar waxwings are very high in a tree and you might only see them from below. The color of them! Such a breathtaking sight!
DeleteI LOVE the inter-net, you can look up so much about birds, much better than flipping through bird photos in bird books, very often photos don't do them justice!
The birds are beautiful! I don't think I've ever (at least knowingly) seen a rusty blackbird. And the cartoon is wonderful. I woke up to zero degrees this morning. But the sun is shining which is not usual around here, this time of year.
ReplyDeleteThis winter is just too cold for me. I know it is not as bas as the northern states, but maybe being sick has made it worse for me? All I know is, I am ready for Spring!!
DeleteWe have hawks, but they aren't generally so close that i can get a good picture.
ReplyDeleteYes, a vacation or a good walk is a joy any time, and recharges the batteries.
We have a lot of hawks around here, but we don't usually see one in our back yard. They might be there all the time when we aren't around and we just don't know it!
DeleteThe coloring on a waxwing has always captivated me. I've never seen one in the wild though. I do love that photo of you on Stone Mountain, Kay!
ReplyDeleteWhen you are in Illinois, look for them on fruit trees.
DeleteWe heard these birds before we saw them, they only are here in the winter.
And thanks, Kay, when I am on Stone Mountain I am at one of my favorite places. xx
Ha!!! I LOVE that cartoon. So cute. I saw "our hawk" in our yard three times today.....it's such a gift.....I hope yours returns for a visit soon. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope you are also keeping an eye out for your "Harry Winston"! :-)
DeleteYep. Me too... on the anti-depressants... right now I'm using what 'warm" days there are (in other words, days when it's at least above 50) over at the Georgia International Horse Park. I want to wait on the rest of Arabian Mtn. till when it gets warmer. Problem with the GIHP is that, while you're near the river, it's great... but if the path turns away from the creeks... it goes straight uphill. Those get hard, quick. Also, the swamplands around there make me think I'm in Degobah. The pictures I have don't do it justice, how barren and bizarre some of the landscapes are south of the park, and probably north, although I've not been there yet.
ReplyDeleteDays above 50, good luck with that!
Delete(Degobah...ha, had to look it up, from Star Wars, I see.)
They may be a bit severe as a landscape but swamps serve their purpose and I am glad that they were saved. I am all about the wildlife, you know!
Thanks for your comment! I don't make it to North Rockdale very often, I don't get out much! HA!
See you at Arabia Mountain in the spring, eh?
Would love to see one of those waxwings. Blackbirds I see plenty of. And I could do with that 'prescription' right now! xx
ReplyDeleteHey Julie!
DeleteThe cedar waxwing REMINDS me of the english goldfinch. They are not the same by any means, but the size and some of the coloring reminds me of it.
I love the birds everywhere! And I like the blackbirds in England too!
A beach in the Caribbean sounds good right now, I agree! :-)
haha! love the cartoon! (and the little birds)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jenny! Enjoy London for me!
DeleteGlad you were able to go to Panola Mountain again, and saw and heard such beautiful birds - and then the hawk right in your backyard!
ReplyDeleteHere, the birds are fooled into thinking it is spring (although it has become much colder and wetter than a week or so ago). Every morning, I hear their song just as if it was March or April already.
Hey Meike!
DeleteWe have not been able to get out much because of my illness, Richard's job and the cold weather, so we were very glad to see these birds on these walks at Panola. It is cold here. I am wearing gloves as I am typing this, it is so cold in my house! :-)