If there is a prettier bird than the Cedar Waxwing in our neighborhood, I don't know what it is. And in terms of avian harbingers, well, there's no feathered critter more welcome. The Waxwings, which get their common name from the red-orange waxy projections that adorn the edges of their secondary wing feathers—alas, not visible here—are not true migrators, so my joy in seeing them has nothing to do with spotting a returnee. It has more to do with a certain way the birds have of marking time: when we spot Cedar Waxwings in our holly trees, it means that the berries have been softened and sweetened by nearly an entire winter of chilly temperatures and it's almost time for spring. There was a small flock of the gorgeous birds, perhaps a half-dozen strong in all, in temporary residence for as long as it'll take to strip the branches bare. If experience serves, it won't take the Cedar Waxwings long to fill up, so I have to work fast to capture their images. I'm guessing that by tomorrow, they'll have moved on to redder berry "pastures."