I’ve been trying for over a month to get decent images of fledgling and juvenile Cedar Waxwings and hadn’t succeeded but yesterday I was able to take a photograph of an immature waxwing that I actually like.
Immature Cedar Waxwing – Nikon D500, f4, 1/800, ISO 1600, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light
Fledglings are birds that have just left their nests, juveniles are birds that still have juvenile plumage, so what makes this Cedar Waxwing an immature bird?
To put it simply this young Cedar Waxwing is molting out of its juvenile plumage. Just one or two weeks ago I could see defuse brown stripes on the pale chest and bellies of the juvenile Cedar Waxwings I was seeing, this bird totally lacks those stripes and I can see a little bit of the pale yellow belly feathers that adults have. In human “ages” I’d say this Cedar Waxwings is in its teen aged years, not quite an adult but not a juvenile either.
It can’t be seen in this photo but this youngster does not have the waxy red secondary wing tips that adults have but it does have the distinct waxy, yellow tail tips that adults do although on this juvenile those wing tips aren’t nearly as long as they are on adults.
In my area of Utah I can see, hear and photograph Cedar Waxwings year round. Maybe next year I will be able to take the photos of Cedar Waxwings in their juvenile plumage that I have been dreaming of.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Cedar Waxwing photos plus facts and information about this species.
More beautiful than most of the teenagers of our species.
Interesting. Would never have known that it was a wax wing…Beautiful photo….
Beautiful!