Faster Than Your Couch!
Yesterday on my run, I saw a flock of "unusual" birds, about 20 of them. They were feeding on the leftover crabapples on the trees alongside the bike path.
Now, after I checked with my all-knowing bird book, I am not sure what they were, Great Crested Flycatchers, or Cedar Waxwings. They had a crest, somewhat of a stripe across the eyes like the Waxwings, a somewhat yellow belly, more like the Flycatcher, and I don't know about the wings.
Which bird would that likely have been, considering the flock and the crabapples? I live in central PA.
Anyone know?
Run for fun.
My vote is Cedar Waxwings. The eye stripe is usually a good identifier and they forage on nuts and fruits, and the flycatchers are more likely to be catching and eating insects.
Must have been a pretty sight-- they're beautiful birds!
Yesterday on my run, I saw a flock of "unusual" birds, about 20 of them. They were feeding on the leftover crabapples on the trees alongside the bike path. Now, after I checked with my all-knowing bird book, I am not sure what they were, Great Crested Flycatchers, or Cedar Waxwings. They had a crest, somewhat of a stripe across the eyes like the Waxwings, a somewhat yellow belly, more like the Flycatcher, and I don't know about the wings. Which bird would that likely have been, considering the flock and the crabapples? I live in central PA. Anyone know?
How big?
Horned larks tend to group together a lot, and have some similarities to your description. They arent all that large though, smaller than waxwings. I just dont usually see the waxwings group together often.
Horned Lark
flashlight and sidewalk
I farmed the question out to my mother who is pretty into birding. Her response:
"Most likely cedar waxwings. They are about the size and shape of a cardinal but with the eye stripe and yellow belly. They are fruit eaters and are seen in flocks in these parts at this time of year. Flycatchers would have migrated south, not to return until late spring.
So, that's my final answer"
**Ask me about streaking**
Derek: About the size of a cardinal. I also looked at the Horned Lark in the book, but the birds had a yellow belly, and the lark does not seem to have that. The lark seems to have a yellow throat, and that was not the case with the birds that I saw.
Nancy: My thought also was that the flycatchers would rather feed on insects, maybe larvae, but not so much on berries. It was quite a spectacular sight!
Zilla: Migration - I'll have to check that. Our area is shielded and milder than one would expect in PA, so some of the "migrating" birds stay in just our area. But if the range is too far off, that certainly is an indicator, too.
I guess it was waxwings.