Studies have shown that spending more time outdoors can improve your mental health. An outdoor activity that I enjoy is bird watching. One of my favourite birds to observe is the Bohemian Waxwing. A huge flock of them descending upon the fruit trees in my yard is quite the sight to behold, and I can hear their chirping from inside my house!
Like their namesakes, the gypsies of ancient Bohemia, Bohemian Waxwings don’t stay long in the same place. They are social birds that travel in large flocks. A group of waxwings is called an “ear-full” or a “museum”. When feeding on fruit and berries, the flock perches at the top of a tree near the food source, then small groups of birds take turns feeding. One bird can swallow up to 300 berries in 2 hours! When overripe berries have begun to ferment, the birds can become drunk from eating too many and aren’t able to fly properly.
The arrival of Bohemian Waxwings is a sure sign of spring in western Canada!
