Cedar Waxwings

The other day we were out for a walk after dinner. It was a nice evening, not to hot, perfect for a walk. I tend to look down a lot when I walk, perhaps in hopes of finding a fortune. This time it wasn't a fortune but a good thing I was. I was a step ahead of hubby and saw something on the ground and yelled "STOP". He stopped short of putting his next step down, phew....

There sitting on the ground was a bird that I hadn't  noticed around here before. It wasn't moving and was so still I didn't know if it was real or a floral display kind of bird. I bent down to take a look, it didn't move, so I picked it up. I wanted to see if it was hurt, but it appeared to be okay. It let me move it around, spread out it's wings to check for feather damage, nothing.

I set about looking him over for his markings. What a beautiful bird and so calm. The tips of his feathers were bright red and looked like they had been dipped in dimensional paint because the spots were raised, not blended into the wings. I didn't know if it was a pet or not, so I checked with a nearby house, but no it wasn't. After being christened a couple of times by him, I realized it was a wild bird due to the berry stains... No big deal.

I saw the area he must have come from, so I took a little walk and tried to release him. I took my hand away and he just sat there, not moving. I tried to lift him off my finger but he seemed to want to be held so I held him close to me. Then he moved onto my shoulder where I finally took him from and placed him in a safe place to recuperate. When we got home out came the wild bird book to see if we could identify him.  We did and discovered from reading the information, that the poor thing was drunk. They gorge themselves on berries and when they've had enough they are so drunk they just sit around until they pretty much sober up... To funny. Was so glad I decided to leave him where he was but out of harms way until he regained his senses.... Here's what he looks like. Didn't have my camera with us, but this is a wonderful picture I found online, and here is a site to read more about him incase he's one that might visit your area. Isn't he gorgeous.