Early afternoon today by the Bike Hub on Rt. 5, a mixed flock of Cedar 
and Bohemian Waxwings was foraging in two crab apple trees.  Birds were 
moving frequently from the tree to the ground, then to nearby white 
pines, so it was difficult to get a good count.  I had a maximum of 50 
Cedars and 6 Bohemians.  Kent McFarland went out 5 minutes later and 
counted 30 Cedars and 10 Bohemians.

Yesterday on the Hinesburg Christmas Bird Count, Paul Wieczoreck and I 
had an amazing encounter with a huge, swirling, highly mobile flock of 
Bohemian Waxwings that we conservatively estimated at 600 individuals, 
but was likely closer to 700-750 birds.  Impossible to get an accurate 
count, as the flock was split among the canopies of several large 
hardwood trees, with subgroups constantly splintering off, shifting 
positions, disappearing, returning, melding, separating.  There might 
have been some Cedars sprinkled in, but we couldn't identify any.  It 
was memorable, by far the day's highlight and by far the biggest waxwing 
flock I've ever encountered.

I don't know of any local food sources that could support a flock of 
that size, if they wander down here!

Chris

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