I've seen this at our bird baths. Once there were three species using a small bath: 2 goldfinches and a catbird in it, and a cardinal drinking from the side! We've also seen catbirds waiting in queue. Marsha Kardon
________________________________ From: Meena Madhav Haribal <m...@cornell.edu> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 8:51 AM Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Public bird bath! I have found this happen very often, i.e. using public baths. I have watched starlings wait in queue for other starlings to finish their baths to visit ‘the bath’, while there are plenty of pools or even the whole stream as in case of Cascadilla Gorge nearby. In spring, I watched a similar event where Yellow-rumped warblers, Yellow warbler, two cardinals and two starlings take bath in a pool in Hawthorn orchard. It is quite an interesting behavior as to why do they do this. But I think such behaviors are ways of transferring feather mites and ticks from one bird to another. Cheers Meena From:bounce-104414905-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-104414905-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of job121...@verizon.net Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 11:16 PM To: W Larry Hymes; CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Public bird bath! I can't find the LIKE button!! Wonderful reporting of a wonderful experience. Thanks for sharing. Fritzie On 07/30/13, W. Larry Hymes<w...@cornell.edu> wrote: Today Sara Jane and I went to Knox-Marsellus and successfully found the WHITE PELICAN, as well as 2 SANDHILL CRANE, 50+ GREAT EGRET, 100+ GREAT BLUE HERON, and many CASPIAN TERNS. After doing Van Dyne Spoor, we decided to drive out Wright Road for the first time. This is a dead end road that parallels Railroad Road, but on the opposite side of the tracks. It is bordered by corn fields, except for a small section that runs through the woods. On our return trip we stopped to check out some birds flitting about in the bushes in the wooded area (REDSTART & CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER). Where we stopped was a short distance before a mud puddle, which was about 5' in width. Little did we suspect that this puddle was actually a "public bath"!! The first birds to bathe were a couple of ROBINS, followed soon by a COWBIRD. A few minutes later two YELLOW WARBLERS decided to jump in (they stayed close to "shore"). Then to our great surprise an OVENBIRD walked out of the shrubs and began pacing around the edge of the "bath waters". It finally got up enough courage to join in the fun and began splashing about. Then a male BALTIMORE ORIOLE, not wanting to be left out, took a brief dip. Had we not stopped at that moment in time to try and identify some birds in the bush, we probably would have missed this once in a lifetime spectacle!! Larry -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
