Native Crabapples and the Cedar Waxwings Who Love Them

I thought I was finished writing about Cedar Waxwings for the season. But over the past two weeks I’ve photographed them several times eating native crabapples at Nisqually NWR. The little apples looked like small juicy pale mauve-colored grapes to me so I went to the refuge office and asked what they were. I’m used to seeing them eat many types of berries, so I was surprised to hear that they are native crabapples.

Every time I’ve seen them in the crabapple tree, a juvenile has shown up first and has voraciously consumed the most crabapples. After the juvenile lands in the tree one or two adults also arrive and leisurely eat a few of the crabapples. By counting the number of red waxy tips on the secondary wings of the adults, I’ve been able to identify a particular adult that has accompanied the juvenile each time I’ve been there. That adult has four of the bright red appendages on each wing, which are composed of astaxanthin, a carotenoid pigment. Yesterday there were two additional adults with them, one with six red tips per wing and another with only one. Since the number of waxy tips increase in size and number with age, the waxwing with six would have been the oldest of the group. The juvenile had none of the red tips.

The waxwings swallow the crabapples whole, which seems like quite a mouthful, but the first photo shows how juicy they are, so maybe they go down easily. My photo session yesterday ended when three robins took over the crabapple tree. I’m wondering where the Cedar Waxwings will go when all of the crabapples are gone. I’ve been photographing them at Nisqually since May feeding on several types of berries, and now crabapples in October. I’m curious to see if they are able to find another food source at the refuge this fall.