We have some shrubby wild plums that grow around our yard and every
spring I see birds, usually house finches, methodically going up and
down the stems eating early flower buds one after another.
Jennifer Powell
Jeffco, near Standley Lake
On 2/14/2022 9:27 AM, 'Carol Blackard' via Colorado Birds wrote:
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
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