Hello, tweets.

I have at least one each male and female Townsend's Warblers coming
daily to a suet cake outside my window. Today through laziness I let
the suet run out, and I watched a female visit the site (I could just
see its frustration) and then land on an open (roofed) feeder next to
the suet feeder and peer into the tray of millet and sunflower seeds.
It finally started pecking in the tray, and as nearly as I could
tell, was taking millet seeds and biting them until the shell fell
off, then swallowing the kernel. I was amazed, but later in the day
it came back and did the same thing, very clear as I watched it in
binoculars. Did it learn this by watching House Finches, or did its
innate curiosity furnish enough drive to try something new? Would it
have tried this if suet had been present?

The Birds of North America account describes it as an insect-eater,
typical of warblers. It is known to take honeydew secreted by scale
insects. But that account also informs that seeds and leaf galls have
been found in stomachs of wintering birds and describes it as a
versatile forager. Only a single sentence refers to what we all see
around here: "In winter, visits feeding stations where cheese,
marshmallows, and peanut butter are offered (Bent 1953)." I guess
this was before suet feeders!

Certainly one of the most delightful attributes of nature is that you
never know what you'll see.

-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net



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