Then I noticed that the entire
>herd was in the grass, about 30 birds. I can't ever remember seeing
>Bushtits feeding on the ground in this way before. I have seen
>Golden-crowned Kinglets doing this in Discovery Park.
>
>They were working over each blade of grass as they would a shrub. By the
>way, the nearest shrub was about 30 feet away.
>
>Russell Rogers

Well, I can't outdo Don in his alliterative bunch of busy Bs, so I'll have
to stick to facts.

BRB - NORTH END CHAPTER REPORT

Once when I was doing the Seattle Christmas bird count, I found a flock of
Bushtits at Magnuson Park that was feeding on the ground, exactly as you
described. There were dense Scots broom thickets all around, but the birds
foraged through the low grass for several minutes, then went back into the
shrubbery. It blew me away at the time, just another example of the folly
of thinking you know it all.

Bushtits that feed on suet in my yard occasionally descend to the ground to
pick up a dropped piece of suet, but they leave a lot of it, to the benefit
of the squirrels, which can't get up on the feeders.

Another example of the learning pathways of birds: we put out a new feeder
in the front yard with suet hanging from it, and it took the Bushtit flock
about a week to discover it, even though they were coming to the backyard
suet every day and usually flew right through the front yard to get there.

SUET FEEDING (I think that putting subheadings in lengthy text might be a
good idea)

And, to add to the suet-feeder commentary, friends of mine in Kirkland have
several Rufous-sided Towhees coming regularly to their suet. They had
similar feeders in Redmond for 15 years or so, and a yard similarly full of
towhees, but never a towhee at the suet. Birds are learning animals!

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