In Greek mythology, Daedalus fashioned himself and his son Icarus, wings made of wax and feathers. Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun, nor too low to the sea. Icarus failed to listen to his father’s cautions, and flew much too high and the sun melted his wings. Icarus ended up falling from the sky into the sea and perished, thus the start of the old saying, “Don’t fly too close to the sun.”
I’m not sure of the validity of Icarus, but I know that these beautiful Cedar Waxwings seemed to have no issue flying high, low, fast, slow, or in any other way. And they certainly look good doing it. According to what I read, the red tips on their wings are actually a waxy secretion from eating an abundance of red berries, but again, I don’t think they are worried about the same fate as Icarus.
The trees in the backyard were full of these guys. As you can see, though, they seemed to like the persimmon trees the best. For a good sized song bird, the Waxwings are actually very active and seem to be on the move a lot, and somehow, always seem to find a way to be behind a branch or facing the wrong direction. Out of about 25 pictures or so, these are among the few that came out unobstructed.
I guess I should apologize for the waxwing that seems to be mooning the camera, but I guess in every crowd, even birds, there’s always that one guy…lol. However, in this picture you get a clear view of the bright yellow tip on their tails thanks to his “bending over” for the shot. Also, the one on the left is showing off both the yellow tail feathers and the bright red waxy wing tips.
I hope you enjoyed these photos today and that maybe, they gave the New Year a little brighter beginning this morning. Be sure to share the web page, rmgoldsmithphotography.com with all of your friends and family. If you like a print of any of our photos, please let me know. Search the media library and if you see anything you like, just let me know. As always, press the “Like” button below and leave me a comment about what you like.
So Happy New Year and from my camera to yours, “Enjoy Our Wonderful World!”
RM Goldsmith Photography 