Who is that masked bird?

Birds have a way of attaching themselves to our memories. When we first started birding beyond our own backyard, I had already been reading about some local species —and I was especially drawn to the unique beauty of the cedar waxwing. On one of our earliest birding trips, we went to the Ottawa Wildlife Drive. We had just begun when I glanced out the window and spotted a small group of waxwings perched high in the trees. It was thrilling — not only to see a bird I had researched, but also to recognize it on my own through binoculars. To this day, whenever I see a cedar waxwing, I think back to that moment. It was one of the first birds we truly "discovered" on our own. Cedar waxwings aren't especially elusive; in fact, we see them regularly at our house. Gina usually hears them first, their thin whistles carrying through the yard, and before long we'll find several feeding in our trees. With all the berries we have, it's the perfect place to attract these elegant birds. Their appearance is simply captivating. Their scientific name, Bombycilla, means "silky tail," a nod to their sleek, satiny plumage and waxy, red-tipped secondary feathers. Though considered a songbird, they don't really sing. Instead, they give a high-pitched, thin whistle, often described as "tsee" or "sree." With my hearing loss, I can't really hear it often for myself. They are distinctive and not easily confused with other birds (except perhaps the northwestern Bohemian waxwing). They're described as pale brown with gray wings and tail, a yellow belly, with a bold black mask, accented by red-tipped wing feathers and a yellow-tipped tail. That mask gives them the look of a comic book superhero! Males and females look nearly identical. These birds like to have a good time — sometimes to their own detriment. Cedar waxwings are highly social year-round, often seen in flocks. They are also nomadic, wandering in search of the next berry-filled hangout. They've even been known to become intoxicated on fermenting or overripe fruit — sometimes with fatal results. It is funny to imagine them gathered in the branches, a little tipsy, celebrating over their berry feast. Their appetite for fruit isn't just entertaining—it's ecologically important. As berry eaters, swallowing them whole, they play a vital role in spreading seeds across landscapes. Seeds pass through their digestive systems intact, helping to grow the next generation of berry trees and shrubs. You can attract them to your yard with native trees and shrubs such as dogwoods, serviceberry, cedar, juniper, and winterberry. Interestingly, the pigments in the berries they consume can even change the color of their tail tips—from bright yellow to orange. Their name reflects their fondness for cedar berries. Due to their reliance on fruit, they don't nest until June or July when berries are most abundant. This fruit diet also helps them against brood parasites like cowbirds, whose chicks rarely survive on a fruit diet. Cedar waxwings do eat insects, too, often catching them midair in dazzling acrobatic flights, but fruit remains their specialty. "All About Birds" describes their lovely courtship: "Males and females hop towards each other, alternating back and forth and sometimes touching their bills together. Males often pass a small item like a fruit, insect or flower petal to the female. After taking the fruit, the female usually hops away and then returns, giving back the item to the male. They repeat this a few times until, typically, the female eats the gift." Females choose the nesting site and build the nest over five to six days, making up to an astounding 2,500 trips to gather materials. Birds work so hard! She weaves twigs, grasses and almost anything else she can find into a bulky cup. She may even snatch materials from the nests of other species, such as kingbirds, robins and orioles. A clutch usually contains two to six eggs, with incubation and nestling taking about a month. Their range is as defined as I have ever seen: breeding in Canada, found year-round across much of the northern United States and wintering in the southern U.S., Mexico and Central America. Their populations are relatively stable, with a global population of about 64 million. They are, however, susceptible to window collisions, something we have, heartbreakingly, experienced. Every time I see a cedar waxwing in my yard, I'm reminded of that first sighting in Ottawa — and of the joy these masked berry bandits continue to bring. Stay sober, my friends.