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?

And Jim Rosso wrote:

>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 agree fully; I think birds are a lot more idiosyncratic than those with
the most reductionist attitudes (sometimes I come from that viewpoint)
would say. I've never seen a wren at suet in years of feeding birds in the
range of several wren species, so I am impressed by the wren wreport. When
I lived in Chapel Hill, NC, I was similarly impressed with how very many
species of birds we had at a suet feeder during the winter, including
kinglets and several warbler species. I've never seen a Song Sparrow at
our suet either, but we have both chickadees, Bushtit, nuthatch, flicker,
Downy Woodpecker and starling. Any other species out there to report? I
know Hairy Woodpeckers do so; anyone ever see a suet-sucking sapsucker?

>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.

In my experience Varied Thrushes only come to feeders during difficult
(snow-covered) conditions. During one heavy snow in Redmond, years ago,
this species completely dominated the seed feeders, one thrush to a feeder.
I suspect they must eat seeds as well as invertebrates when they forage on
the forest floor, as they come to seed feeders so readily when stressed.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416