I had just completed a 2-hour birding excursion at Pheasant Branch Conservancy with Dottie and Sylvia when I found another Bohemian Waxwing. It was just a few blocks away from my apartment. As I completed making a left turn onto Deming Way from Greenway Boulevard in Middleton, I saw a waxwing flock perched in a small tree on the left side of the road right outside of Dhaba Restaurant. They were so close that even without my binoculars I saw that one of them was a Bohemian.
It's definitely not the same bird I observed at my apartment courtyard a couple of weeks ago. Unlike that bird, this one had no yellow or red color on primary and secondary feather tips.
The waxwing flock flew over to a large crab apple tree in front of an office building on the opposite side of the block. At one point, the birds came down from the tree to get water from a puddle left over from yesterday's rain. The Bohemian Waxwing came down to drink, too, but I was distracted while talking to one of the office building's occupants. He was curious about the dozen or so people with binoculars and scopes standing in front of the building. I was telling him about the visitor from the north when it came down to the puddle to drink. Still, it was a “life bird” for almost everyone there and that was reward enough!
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Dec 2, 2012 - 30 species
Canada Goose
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Cedar Waxwing
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2012 Mike McDowell