I?ve been having bushtits come to my suet feeder regularly for years. But
even a flock of a dozen or more will only stay for perhaps two minutes
maximum at a time, with individuals flying to and from the feeder
constantly. (This makes it a huge challenge to count them for Project
Feederwatch). So it?s possible that one could watch the feeder off and on
and miss their arrival. But indeed, once they start to visit the feeder, it
becomes a fairly regular event. I?ve sometimes seen chestnut-backed
chickadees show up at the same time, as if flocking with the bushtits. It?s
quite a sight to see them all attaching themselves to the basket of the
feeder?rather reminiscent of a swarm of bees or other insects.



Barbara Miller

Bellevue, WA

Bmill07(AT)Comcast(Dot)net



From: Jesse Ellis [mailto:jme29 at cornell.edu]
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 10:36 AM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] BUshtits at the feeder



Rupert and all-



I'd be curious to know how often this happens. About two or three weeks ago,
our local flock also found our suet feeders, and now scenes like yours occur
daily. It's pretty cool. As a non-native, I hadn't thought that Bushtits
would be likely to hit the suet, but they appear to relish the stuff. Is
this totally normal, or rather rare?



Jesse Ellis

Seattle, WA



At 10:25 AM -0800 12/11/08, RUPERT GROVE wrote:

For about the third time since I moved to Tacoma from Olympia, I had an
invasion of bushtits at the feeder. I often see them in the yard, but only
on rare occasion do they come to the feeder. A Bewick's Wren just the suet
today also; a first for me at a feeder. It must be the chillier weather.

Rupert Grove
Tacoma, WA

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Jesse Ellis, Ph. D.
Neurobiology and Behavior
jme29 at cornell.edu
111 Mudd Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, 14853