Really? We have a row of these 6 feet tall or more 200 ft long in front of
our rural place . Now I haven't seen a winter warbler here in decades But
maybe that's good . Paul, do you mean that they get sappy material all over
their faces? Anna's hummingbirds practically live in these while they're in
bloom But I haven't seen any Deleterious effects . In this case it seems
likely they're going for nectar but I would guess insects as well . Bob
O'Brien Portland
On Tuesday, February 2, 2021, Paul Bannick <
paul.bannick at gmail.com> wrote:
>
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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>>>
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>>>
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>>>
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>>>
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>>>
>>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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