Sunday afternoon as the temperature began to rise a bit this huge flock of Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrula) were paying a visit to Tisdale. These pictures were taken at 4:40 in front of the United Church and twenty minutes later they were no longer in the area. Like the very similar Cedar Waxwing these birds are extremely gragarious and fly in tight close formations.
The Cedar Waxwing is smaller and will have some white to yellow on its breast
whereas
the Bohemian Waxwing is about an inch longer and has a grayer rusty tinged appearance. Both have the distinctive crest that distinguishes them from other species.
The Bohemian Waxwing is found throughout Eurasia and North Western North America. They tend to winter in the North West states of the United States and along the mountains but apparently this warm winter has seen them make their way up this way. Having no luggage to worry about they travel on group rates and require no boarding passes.
Because their normal winter habitat is boreal forest, with a preference for muskeg, they move around considerably harvesting berries.