Lateral but still birdy shift here: I’ve been watching bushtits picking off and downing buds from our Flowering Quince bushes in March for years, sometimes chickadees. At first I thought they might be going for insect larvae, but I now think it’s the flower buds.
Carol Blackard carolblackard.com Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 14, 2022, at 9:16 AM, DAVID A LEATHERMAN <[email protected]> wrote: > > > At least four people have sent me pics or descriptions of house finches at or > near the pyrrhuloxia yard eating tree parts and have said the pyrrhuloxia was > associating with the finches for a lengthy period of time, maybe doing the > same thing. The "tree parts" are buds. Trees have two primary types of > buds: flower buds and leaf buds. At this time of year the flower buds, which > are first to open for most types of trees, swell. As such they are > nutritional sinks and a valuable source of bird food, especially for finches, > cardinals and the like. The tree shown in the pics I've received looks like > Siberian elm, a tree that has been flowering earlier and earlier in my > experience. In recent years I have seen a few elm flowers in late February, > with March being the peak. It would be cool if somebody could document the > pyrrhuloxia eating Siberian elm flower buds. Birds actively consuming large > numbers of buds, which is a messy operation, often show considerable "debris" > on their beaks. Maybe one of you has a photo of the pyrrhuloxia with a messy > beak and it could be determined if the mess is from sunflower seed or tree > buds. A photo of the pyrrhuloxia actually putting its beak down to a twig > with swollen dark brown buds would be better proof. > > We all know animals are opportunists. Studying fox squirrels over the years, > I have long thought one could pretty accurately predict the order in which > our urban trees flower and/or leaf out by noting the tree species when one > sees squirrels chowing down on buds and dropping the worked over twigs. The > squirrels favoring one kind of tree this week will most likely be in a > different type of tree next week. Keep track of the sequence and I think it > would be a good match to the flowering/leafing sequence for that same set of > trees weeks hence. Somehow, probably related to smell in the case of > squirrels, they know where to get the biggest bang for the bite. The pattern > doesn't seem quite as clearcut for birds. My thought would be that birds are > going by visual clues (i.e., watching for swelling which indicates a recent > or on-going investment in the growing points by the plant), and that visual > assessment might not be as precise as the aromatic acuity possessed by > squirrels. > > Memberships in the CSFTEA (Colorado Society For The Easily Amused) are free. > Join today. > > Dave Leatherman > Fort Collins > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CY4PR0601MB37631387DEB357B5429B74A7C1339%40CY4PR0601MB3763.namprd06.prod.outlook.com. -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/9D0E0EEC-5472-4895-9220-99A5B244166F%40icloud.com.
