As most birds are now reaching the tapered end of their nesting season, an odd thought enters my mind. I just cannot imagine Cedar Waxwings' building nests. I've seen them sitting on nests, and I've seen their young, so I know they build nests just like most other songbirds. However, I have never seen a Waxwing in the process of building a nest. I have never seen a Waxwing holding anything other than a berry in its mouth. In fact, the sight of that sleek crested bird with a wad of grass or a twig pinched in its black stout beak would be like seeing a Jaguar sedan sporting roof racks and a canoe. It would be like seeing the Pope in a thong bathing suit playing volleyball on a beach! Yes, some things just make the mind recoil in horror, and the image of the sleek Cedar Waxwing using its exotic body to haul nest material is one of them.

I doubted I would ever see such a sight, but then one fine day fate reached out its feathery wingtip and tapped me on the shoulder.

It was quite warm, there were few birds in the air, and I sat outside in the gathering quiet that comes with late summer. Suddenly, a lone Cedar Waxwing appeared in the upper branches of a tall Poplar tree. It moved downward through the limbs until it was almost at my feet then it grabbed something from the grass and flew low into the bushes. I followed its movements; it was quickly apparent that two Waxwings were in the tree. It was not a fruit tree, so it seemed quite incongruent they were scurrying about the limbs.

I moved closer and watched while one of the Waxwings flew from a clumpy bit of thick foliage and passed over my head. Could they be nesting? Curiosity got the best of me so I walked towards the Poplar tree. Just as I spied the possible nest, both male and female Waxwings flew right in, and settled on the spot. It was a nest - well, at least it was the beginnings of a nest. So scant was the building material I could see both birds from where I was standing. The nest was in its barest, beginning stages! Would I now have the rare privilege of seeing what I recently thought so ludicrous a sight as to be almost unsavory, a Waxwing with nest material in its beak?

I pulled my chair into the shade and made ready my scope and binoculars. Only the female was present, so far she seemed undisturbed by my rude intrusion. She flew to a branch over my head and pulled at small dead limbs. Breaking one free, she returned directly to the nest, plopped down, and placed the twig on the outside rim. It seemed odd that she worked on the outside of the nest while sitting on the inside, but who am I to judge. Perhaps all potters would work while sitting inside their pots, if it were possible.

It happened so quickly, I didn't get a really good look at my first Cedar Waxwing with a twig in her mouth. However, the show was not over yet. During the next hour the Waxwing flew repeatedly to nearby dead branches, broke off twigs, and carried them to the nest. This gave me many opportunities to witness the spectacle of a Waxwing with nest material in its mouth. Oddly, she looked as if she was born to such work.

I was amazed, not so much by a Waxwing carrying nest material and making it look natural. Just amazed that the stars lined up and presented me with the opportunity to see something I thought I'd never see. What's next? The Pope playing volleyball on the beach?