Flying bandits and Federation Squirrels

One of the rest stops we stopped at in Iowa, on our way home from vacation, had about 20 Cedar Waxwings. Of course, I ran and got my camera and made the guys wait while I admired them. They were a little shy, but still so beautiful! This was the second time in month I got to admire the Waxwings, even though I had never seen them before.

I think they like the berries.

In fact, they get their name from their red wax-like wing tips and because they eat small blueberry-like cones of the cedar.

They’re mostly seen in flocks and will eat insects when berries can’t be found.

I love the splash of yellow on the tips of their tails amongst all their earth toned feathers. And their bandit-like black masks; they’re like tiny flying raccoons.

They are so majestic!

Another little treat at another Iowa rest stop - - - wait, no, I don’t “go” that much, but we were caching and while the guys ran to find the caches I looked for critters. I spotted this curious Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel.

Sometimes people call them striped gophers but they aren’t a gopher.  They're also called Federation Squirrels because the spots and stripes resemble the stars and stripes of the American flag.