I've observed similar behavior with the yard house finches. They gather by the brick garden wall (stacked, no morter) from time to time, and peck away at the bricks. I've assumed that they were after insects of some sort.
On Wed, Jul 5, 2023, 8:39 AM <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello all, > > I’ve been witnessing a similar behavior with the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds > at my house. One will hover near the cement mortar around the brick > exterior and then fly in and peck at that mortar, for several times. I’ve > witnessed this on more than one occasion. I also have watched the females > fly down to exposed dirt and peck (for lack of a better word) at the dirt. > They will even sit on the ground and peck at the dirt. I had thought they > might be gathering nesting material, but they just flew up to an > overhanging limb and sat there. (This limb is not somewhere they built a > nest, just a favorite sitting limb.) > > With the cement mortar, I was wondering if they are getting calcium from > that.... > Open to comments. > > Maureen Blackford > Boulder County > 8500’ elevation > > > > *From:* mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Tuesday, July 04, 2023 9:04 AM > *To:* Colorado Birds <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [cobirds] A Goldfinch challenge for David Leatherman > > Why would a Goldfinch cling to a brick wall for a minute and a half? > At 7 AM when I walked into my garden I was treated to a brilliant Amer. > Goldfinch male who flew directly from my Bachelor Button patch to the > side of my yellow-brick garage. The brick has an extremely rough texture, > so it was easy to cling to. Although there were lots of "gnats" in the > air, > there weren't any near the wall, which is protected by a 3' overhang. I > expected > the bird to immediately move on, but he lingered and lingered, making > little > pecking movements at the brick and perhaps at the mortar. It came to mind > that Amazon parrots peck up clay, but it seems unlikely that 80-year-old > mortar > would be digestible. Maybe a small spider or spider eggs? After the bird > left, > I examined the wall but could see absolutely nothing. If it was a small > spider, how > extraordinary that the bird saw it in the shade from 25 yards away. > P.S. to gardeners: Bachelor Buttons are incredibly easy to grow, and they > self-sow, > so there's almost no work involved in having a patch. Bees, including > some native > bees, love it, and American Goldfinches, Lesser Goldfinches, and House > Finches > will come to it from time to time for the developing seeds. > David Gulbenkian, Crown Hill area, Jeffco > -- > -- > 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/4cc2b5af-ef44-47ab-9669-cf7c3914ac86n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/4cc2b5af-ef44-47ab-9669-cf7c3914ac86n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > -- > 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/01586A00B0884440B2F79DE03651634A%40MaureenLaptop > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/01586A00B0884440B2F79DE03651634A%40MaureenLaptop?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- -- 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/CAK_ce7_T3q7CUCUetpevp0XY2MYuaKWgZ2ARph6U9JxdPS_F5A%40mail.gmail.com.
