Day 289: A little over a month ago, I had a solitary juvenile Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) perch on the shepherd's-hook immediately outside the window. I hope he was taking notes, because the Sitka Mountain-ash berries are beginning to ripen, and there's nothing Cedar Waxwings like better. They (the berries) are in somewhat short supply this year due to bizarrely fluctuating weather in June, 90 one day, nearly freezing the following night, a pattern which played hob with many of my plants including the hardy kiwis. Nevertheless, there are enough mountain-ash berries on my two trees to keep a small flock of Waxwings happy for a day or two, and the ones they don't eat will be gobbled up by migrating robins. Both species of bird like the fruit a bit past its sell-by date when the pith begins to get somewhat winy. I'm not expecting Waxwings for two or three more weeks, but I hope that solo visitor carried the message home.
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