On July 20, 2013 we had visitors arrive from Texas.  Around the middle of the afternoon one of them, a beginning birder, looked out the kitchen window and saw a Cedar waxwing in or around the watercourse.  As soon as I heard my wife confirm the sighting I grabbed my camera and headed outside, but by the time I was set up the waxwing had disappeared.  (I had thought I might have heard a waxwing earlier in the day but didn’t see it in glancing around the yard.)

We decided to set up in the yard and watch birds for awhile and in just a few minutes a male Black-headed grosbeak arrived in one of the madrona trees.  After just a little moving around the yard it was down by the watercourse, an unusual event as I believe I mentioned in one of my prior posts.)  I was able to take a good many photos of the bird staging, bathing and preening afterwards.

Male Black-headed Grosbeak

Male Black-headed Grosbeak – post-bath

Almost before the grosbeak was finished bathing the Cedar waxwing was back and I was able to get a couple of photographs.  I suspect this might be a juvenile… crest not raised, colors not very bright and some feather aberration on the bird’s belly.  For whatever reason, at one point the waxwing decided to open its beak and I managed a photo with its mouth open.

Cedar Waxwing

While we were watching, in about the same 10-minute period, a Spotted towhee made an appearance at the watercourse… and a while later, yet another.

Spotted Towhee

While the towhees are regular daily, year-round visitors, the grosbeaks have been rare visitors for the past couple of months and it’s unusual for either species to visit the watercourse.  The waxwings are very rare visitors but when ithey do visit, it is usually to avail themselves of the water.

It was nice to be able not only to photograph these birds, but to show them to our visitors!