For the past four nights, a flock of cedar waxwings has roosted in a holly
tree in our yard. They gather around 6:30 pm (90 minutes before dark), and
settle down in the holly tree. In the morning, they start to move around
just before sunrise, about 6:45 am, and after preening and grooming they
leave the tree before 7. Although counting them has been a Where's Waldo
adventure, the numbers have varied from a low of 6 last night to 26 the
previous night. I think last night was low due to a passage through the yard
by the neighborhood Cooper's. The holly tree is a male tree, and has no
berries, so I was considerably confused when they first appeared. But they
shortly settled down, tucked their heads in, and were still.

--John McKitterick
jbmck at comcast.net
Columbia, MD