Hugh Jennings wrote

For the first time ever, a Bewick's Wren has been feeding at one of our
suet feeders. I guess it saw all the other birds feeding there & decided
to try it. I am curious as to whether the chickadee(?) or Bewick's Wren
behaviors are unusual. Have others observed similar behavior?

I have Bewick's Wrens in the backyard but I have never seen them come to the
suet. I have Bushtits and they have also ignored the suet. The only suet
eaters I have are both chickadees, r.b. nuthatch, a very occassional flicker,
and sometimes the song sparrow. I am very curious how the feeding patterns
are different throughout the area. Previously people were comparing if their
bushtits came to suet or not. I am beginning to think that it might be
learned behavior.

I have almost been in this house a whole year so obviously my records are
scarce but I am also interested that the Varied Thrushes who only showed up a
month ago have not yet fed at the seed; the same seed that they were scarfing
up from December to March.
They have been feeding around the Rhododendren and a bit on the lawn. Perhaps
they go to the seed only when they run out of other sources. But that doesn't
make sense to me. I look forward to gathering more data.

Jim Rosso
Issaquah
206-392-8440