here and gone

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"Like clockwork," my friend Wayne Mallinger emails, "On the first day of spring comes the attack of the cedar waxwings. A large flock (about 100) strips my large holly tree of every single red berry in two days time before moving on. This year my resident mockingbird slowed the waxwings feeding frenzy by defending the tree temporarily, but he soon got outnumbered..."

Cedar waxwings are colorful nomads. Like primitive hunter-gatherers they move from place to place, food source to food source, covering many miles within their overall range. They only settle down long enough to nest and raise a family before they move on, always in flocks, always on the go. If they spend the day in your holly tree, tomorrow they may be on the other side of the county.

Thanks, Wayne. 

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