The birds change with the season

This is a season of change when it comes to birds.

One cast is leaving us, including the hummingbirds, and most hummers will be gone by the end of October. They’ll over-winter in Central America and on down to Brazil.

Winter birds arriving will include yellow-rumped warblers and American and lesser goldfinches.

Other birds will be with us year-round. Some of the most common permanent residents in our area are house sparrows, red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, barn swallows, turkey vultures, black vultures, killdeers, northern mockingbirds and cattle egrets.

One winter bird I particularly look forward to is the cedar waxwing. A mid-sized, sleek bird with a large head, this species features a black mask on its light brown head and a pale yellow belly. Its most distinguished identifying mark is the yellow tip of its dark tail, almost like it had been dipped in gold.

Waxwings love to join in large flocks and they also love to feast on berries, which they swallow whole. Sometimes, if the berries are a bit fermented, the waxwings become tipsy and behave accordingly. If you see an especially jovial group of brown birds, some staggering on the ground, chances are they are inebriated cedar waxwings.

Up north, there is a similar bird, called the Bohemian waxwing, and in east Asia, they have a Japanese waxwing. Enjoy our cedar waxwings while they are here – they visit only briefly before heading back north.