The Thrill of the Trill

For the past  few days, when I've headed out on my morning walk, I've heard a high-pitched trilling in the treetops nearby. Without binoculars, I couldn't be sure, but I knew that had to be a flock of waxwings. . . if only I had brought my binoculars . . .


This morning, as I was fixing my lunch, I heard them again; this time outside my back door. I grabbed my binoculars and my camera and scrabbled out into the woods. 
Following that high-pitched trilling wasn't difficult, but seeing them was. The pines are 50-60 feet high, and these birds love to sit in the very top branches. Rounding a corner on the trail, I saw them rise up in a loud rush of wings and a chorus of trills.
They landed in a nearby tree, where, I quickly realized, they were desperately seeking refuge from the buffeting winds. Not great for taking photos, but I did get a few:

Cedar waxwing flock in top of slash pine

I followed them around, from tree to tree, until they landed where I could get a better focus on just one or two. Here, even though it's what I'd refer to as an acceptable ID photo, not a great portrait, you can see their beautiful colors (even the little bits of a red bar that appears on the wings.) Look how the wind is ruffling their crests.

Cedar waxwings blown about by the wind

At one point, I turned around to follow the sound of a very different voice and found a northern parula, hopping through the brushy leaves of a small shrub right next to me. No time to really focus, just point, shoot, and pray. It came out OK, but since this is one of my favorite warblers, I'm including it anyway. What a great mix of colors in this little one! (No wonder everyone loves to hear its sweet little warble every year!)

Northern parula; probably a first year male, just beginning to get its dark "necklace".

Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a flashing yellow rump in another nearby shrub. What a day for warblers!

Yellow rumped warbler flashing its colors.

It's on, fellow birders! If you aren't out there, you aren't going to see this year's migration. They are dribbling back early and they are everywhere. . . see you out there, soon! The trill of the hunt has been sounded!

Postmarked: West Melbourne, FL