River rocks!

[LeeKen]

I went out to Dunton Locks, at Lake Sallie, last night looking for Waxwings. They would fly out over the rapids, catch a bug, then land and enjoy their meal. They didn't pay much attention to me, landing at my feet and bumping into me.

I also ran into a few Redstarts and I think the last one is a Yellowthroat.

[RiverFish]

Please forgive my ignorance on the subject of bird watching but I do have a question.

Sunday night I was out with a buddy and boys canoeing on the WI river. We came on the channel side of an island and there were tons of these Waxwings. My buddy got all excited and said he has never seen Waxwings in large groups like this. Are they really this rare to see in numbers/groups?

[LeeKen]

RiverFish,

In the winter we have flocks of 50-100 or so, the rest of the year I see them in smaller, looser groups. I'd guess they came together because they found a great food source on that river.

[vern]

That's interesting LeeKen. I saw a large flock flying around a dam/rapids on the Crow River today. It looked like they were picking off bugs also. I've only seen them a few times but never over water. Pretty cool to watch the aerobatic maneuvers, especially when they get so close.