Cedar Waxwing Writing Prompt
Cedar Waxwings are a favorite of mine. They look like masked bandits, don’t they?
With that mask, a pale yellow belly and a yellow tip on their tail, they’re fun to photograph. Harder to see and photograph, are the red, waxy tips on their flight feathers.
Cedar Waxwings are very social birds and hang out in large flocks. They even nest nearby each other. Building their nest can take 5 to 6 days. The female does most of the work, bringing materials with about 2,500 trips back and forth to the nesting site! Sometimes, this masked bandit will steal materials from another species nest, to save time.
Waxwings love fruiting shrubs and trees, such as serviceberry, strawberry, mulberry, dogwood, raspberries, and yes, cedar berries! That’s where they get their name. They’ll pluck the fruit, and swallow it whole!
But every now and again . . .
they drop one!
Don’t you just love the expression on its face!
Using the photos and wildlife notes above, write a story about this masked bandit and the berry that got away!