Tweeters,

Dan's post got me interested in these warblers' microhabitat, so I stopped
by again this morning and looked at the vegetation more closely. The vine
on the fence the bird is spending time in appears to be hops (*Humulus
lupulus*). Seems appropriate given Seattle's fetish for IPAs. As for the
small insects, I'm not sure what those were.

I wonder if it would be productive to check more protected nooks and
crannies around the shores of Lake Union for more urban-overwintering
passerines like this?

Good birding,
Dave Slager
Seattle, WA



On Tue, Dec 10, 2013 at 9:08 PM, <notcalm at comcast.net> wrote:
> Thanks, Dave and others for the reports on the Palm Warbler.
>
> I saw it feeding in the afternoon. As reported by several others, there
was
> also a very layed-back Townsend's Warbler feeding at the same location.
> Looked like a First Winter Female Townsend's.
>
> One of the interesting things about this bird's behavior is that it was
> gleaning very small, light colored insects, dead or alive from the leaves
as
> seen in my video frame grabs. The bugs may have been aphids, scale insects
> or the equivalent. Any Bug Expert out there?
>
> I later wondered if the recent freeze resulted in freeze-dried bugs on the
> ground and pavement. Which could have explained the interest in the
> pavement. I also wondered if a substantial bug die-off occurs during these
> periods of very low temperatures.
>
> I just looked at Cornell Ornithology- Birds of North America Online, which
> offered much useful Information including:
>
> "Feeds on honeydew secreted at the tip of threadlike anal tube of scale
> insects, commonly breaking tube (Greenberg et al. 1993).
>
> Diet
>
> Little information. Western spruce budworm (Tortricidae) important where
> present (Langelier and Garton 1986). Feeds on caterpillars, moths, winged
> insects, and other invertebrates commonly found on coniferous and
deciduous
> foliage (Gabrielson and Lincoln 1959, SMM). In California Oct?Jan, 31
> specimens contained 95% animal matter (Beal 1907). Of these animal parts,
> 42% were true bugs (Hemiptera, mostly stinkbugs [Pentatomidae]), 25% bees
> and ants (Hymenoptera), 21% beetles (Coleoptera, mostly snout beetles, or
> weevils [Curculionidae]), 12% other insects or spiders. Vegetable foods:
> seeds and leaf galls. Honeydew of scale insects important locally on
winter
> range (Greenberg et al. 1993). In winter, visits feeding stations where
> cheese, marshmallows, and peanut butter are offered (Bent 1953)."
>
> Cheese, marshmallows and peanut butter?
>
> Dan Reiff
> Mercer Island
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: "Dave Slager" <dave.slager at gmail.com>
> To: tweeters at uw.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 9:38:48 AM
> Subject: [Tweeters] "Western" Palm Warbler(s) near UW-Seattle campus,

> King Co.
>
> Tweeters,
>
> There is at least one "Western" Palm Warbler actively foraging now in the
> low brush on the south side of the corner of NE Northlake Way and 7th Ave
> NE, just west of UW. This is at the bus stop just east of the Seattle
Boat
> Company. I had prolonged and point-blank views of this rather tame bird,
> but when I first got there I saw 1-2 other "Dendroica"-type warblers
flying
> away from the same location, both with a lot of white in the tail. These
> birds flew towards the west, so it may be worth checking the green spaces
> beneath the I-5 bridge.
>
> The definitively-ID'd bird was foraging here: 47.654418,-122.320954
>
> The best part about this sighting was that I identified the bird from
inside
> a King County Metro bus I was riding to UW. The bus stopped at the bus
stop
> to let somebody on, and I could see the warbler foraging and tail-bobbing
on
> the fence just feet from my window. That's the quickest I've ever run
off a
> bus!
>
> Good birding,
> Dave Slager
> Seattle, WA
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20131211/c89fe5ba/attachment.htm