The Bohemian Waxwings at Running Y Ranch are a nomadic bunch. There are dozens of them there along with their smaller cousins, Cedar Waxwings and various other berry eaters: Robin, Townsend’s Solitaire, Varied Thrush. The berry bunch seems to be intent on eating all the fruit on the western junipers which are abundant at Running Y. The junipers clearly had a very good fruiting season this past autumn.
In the flight picture note the Bohos have reddish-brown undertail coverts, not seen on the Cedar. Both do have the golden feathers on the tip of the tail. 
Both these fine pictures were taken by Peter Thiemann during our birding trip on Friday. This species was my second Oregon lifer of the day. I’m closing in on 290 now. It gets tougher as the list grows longer. Not any easy ones left except those obvious Snbowy Owls further north.
“Bohemian” has no connection in this context to social rebels but to Bohemia the place where this species was apparently first recognized. Bohemain Waxwings are found around the Northern Hemisphere while Cedar Waxwings are found only in North America. While only an inch taller the Bohemian is almost twice as heavy as the Cedar. Most of their breeding range in North America is north of the Canadian border.
Here’s my own photos of two other berry munchers:
That’s a Townsend’s Solitaire in the treetop and his cousin, the Varied Thrush, on the driveway. There were also Evening Grosbeaks sharing the juniper berries, but that’s for another blog. And with all those birds in the trees, the Cooper’s Hawk couldn’t resist, but that, too, is another blog.
Running Y Ranch, Klamath, US-OR. Jan 4, 2013 2:45 PM. 21 species
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 10
White-headed Woodpecker (Picoides albolarvatus) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 8
Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 6
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 15
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 4
Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli) 3
Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) 4
Townsend’s Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) 3
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 250
Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius) 3
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 45
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) 45
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 150
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 50
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) 4
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 2
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 1
That’s a better picture than I though possible of the waxwings in the top of a tall tree. Nice going, Peter!
By: Terry Doyle on January 7, 2013
at 9:01 am