Right now our local cedar waxwings are harvesting fruit as it ripens. I see them regularly at Minto-Brown Island Park. They will be eating hawthorn, dogwood, snowberries, sour cherries, even some of the blackberries I can’t reach myself.

The waxwings are usually in small flocks, and frequently one will fly out from a perch, grab a flying insect and return to a nearby perch.

This is a species found across North America south of the Arctic. The waxwings breed in forests with deciduous trees, so they enjoy the Willamette Valley.

As the fruit vanishes and insects become unavailable, most waxwings migrate south, but a few can be expected on most local Christmas bird counts. Fruit with a hard exterior and waxy cover will not all rot or ferment – for example, hawthorn. That can be eaten in w

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