I looked out my window on Thursday to see hundreds, maybe thousands of cedar waxwings. I usually see a small flock in March on a nearby crabapple but I'd never seen such large numbers. The photos here are taken from about 6m distance with an itouch.

The waxwings had descended on our next-door neighbours' mayday tree to eat the dried and likely fermented fruit. Further investigation found flocks of them down the entire block on every fruit-bearing tree such as Mountain Ash and crabapples. For several hours, they tossed berries around, gobbled snow off the neighbours' roof and littered the sidewalk where there are now noticeable "wine stains."

Cedar waxings (with the yellow stripe, unlike the larger Bohemian waxwings) are one of Calgary's fancier looking birds with their crests and multicoloured plumage, so it's always a treat to see them, and it's often a one-time event with no advance warning--a rave of waxwings if you will. By 5 p.m. the party was over, and all the stragglers had left.

Food Lovers' Europe: A Celebration of Local Specialties, Recipes & Traditions by Cara Frost-Sharratt

The Food Lovers’ Guide to Europe is the definitive guide to the Old World’s tastiest destinations. Blending practical travel information with hand-picked selections of the finest culinary treats Europe has to offer, London-based food and travel writer Cara Frost-Sharratt outlines the cuisines of more than forty destinations within twenty-five European countries—from classic ones such as Paris, Rome, London, and Brussels to newer places on the culinary map, including Vilnius, Tallinn, and Bratislava—before focusing in on their most exciting gourmet hotspots. A must-have handbook to Europe’s gastronomic delights, it includes recipes throughout.

Food Lovers' Guide to Montreal: Best Local Specialties, Markets, Recipes, Restaurants & Events by Patricia Harris

The ultimate guide to Montreal's food scene provides the inside scoop on the best places to find, enjoy, and celebrate local culinary offerings. Written for residents and visitors alike to find producers and purveyors of tasty local specialties, as well as a rich array of other, indispensable food-related information including: food festivals and culinary events; specialty food shops; farmers’ markets and farm stands; trendy restaurants and time-tested iconic landmarks; and recipes using local ingredients and traditions.

Food Lovers' Guide to Seattle: Best Local Specialties, Markets, Recipes, Restaurants & Events by Karen Brown

The ultimate guide to Seattle's food scene provides the inside scoop on the best places to find, enjoy, and celebrate local culinary offerings. Written for residents and visitors alike to find producers and purveyors of tasty local specialties, as well as a rich array of other, indispensable food-related information including: food festivals and culinary events; specialty food shops; farmers’ markets and farm stands; trendy restaurants and time-tested iconic landmarks; and recipes using local ingredients and traditions.

West Coast Road Eats: The Best Road Food from Los Angeles to the Canadian Border by Anna Roth

As "locavore" becomes part of our everyday vocabulary and food critics continue to give West Coast cuisine accolades for its freshness and sustainability, West Coast Road Eats shows how why we eat-and where we eat it-matters more than ever. Part guidebook, part travelogue, and part history lesson, West Coast Road Food is a love letter to the seafood shacks, farm stands, taquerias, ice cream parlors, burger joints, wineries, and more that make up our unique edible ecosystem. Covering more than 1,500 miles from the Canadian border to San Diego, West Coast Road Eats offers a plethora of unique restaurants that dot the freeways and scenic byways of the West Coast. With suggested itineraries, overviews of major cities, and sidebars covering everything from captivating food-factory tours to instructions on how to pick the best produce at a farm stand, this book focuses the relationship between food and a sense of place with the enduring image of the American West as a backdrop.

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