yes, this is common with the winter blooming Mahonia Arthur Menzies
On Tue, Feb 2, 2021 at 7:09 AM Robert O'Brien <
baro at pdx.edu> wrote:
>
>
Growing up in California where eucalyptus trees from Australia are widely
>
naturalized It is very Abundantly seen that yellow-rumped warblers love to
>
feed in eucalyptus flowers . As a result they get some sappy material all
>
over their face that then has other dirt and grime stick to it . They look
>
like a mess and it is sometimes fatal to them . I might say it's frequently
>
fatal to them . So in this case I'm not sure whether they were going for
>
some sort of nectar Or For insects attracted to the nectar . I would guess
>
the former because you would think they could pick the insects out Without
>
getting the sappy sugary material all over their face . I didn't try it but
>
I think Googling it would give a lot of information . About the eucalyptus
>
trees that is . Bob O'Brien Portland
>
>
On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net>
>
wrote:
>
>>
Ed, we have Townsend's every winter coming to suet feeders. Quite a few
>>
times I have seen one land on a hummingbird feeder and apparently take some
>>
sugar water from along the edge where we had spilled it when filling the
>>
feeder. Yellow-rumped are also around all winter, but I haven't seen one do
>>
that.
>>
>>
Dennis Paulson
>>
Seattle
>>
>>
On Feb 1, 2021, at 10:32 PM, <EdSwan2 at Comcast.net> <EdSwan2 at Comcast.net>
>>
wrote:
>>
>>
Our neighbors have a large old mahonia bush with many yellow blossoms
>>
that blooms for much of the winter. Anna's Hummingbirds fight to protect
>>
this territory a lot and I was surprised to see a Townsend's Warbler able
>>
to forage in the bush without being attacked several times recently. This
>>
morning, I noticed that the female Townsend's appeared to be inserting its
>>
beak into the flowers like it was accessing nectar as opposed to gleaning
>>
for insects.
>>
>>
Is that a known foraging behavior for Townsend's? I have seen them drink
>>
from a hummingbird feeder before but I have not seen them try nectar
>>
feeding from plants. Cornell's Birds of the World doesn't really have that
>>
much information on their diet. It does mention that they drink honeydew
>>
from scale insects in Central America, which I thought was interesting.
>>
>>
It was a good warbler day with Townsend's, Orange-crowned and
>>
Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warblers all getting suet from the suet feeder or
>>
hopping on the ground to get suet bits dislodged by a flicker.
>>
>>
Ed in West Seattle
>>
>>
Ed Swan
>>
Nature writer and guide
>>
www.theswancompany.com
>>
edswan2 at comcast.net
>>
206.949.3545
>>
>>
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