As much as I try to avoid ascribing human motivations to wild animals, some birds just seem to beg for it.  Waxwings, for example, are the bird world’s biker gang, not seen for months or years, and then one day 40 of them show up and strip your fruit trees before moving on to the next town, or wherever they go.

These Bohemian waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) are winter visitors from far north, showing up unpredictably and delighting the bird-afflicted who encounter them.