First, how fun to have Eurasian Tree Sparrows in your yard - I can't imagine your excitement when you realized what you were seeing. Quite the new "yard bird" to add 😃
Re. redpolls, they've always eaten peanut suet at our house and cabin - both from feeders and scattered on ground. (we finely chop it and scatter it when we redpolls and yellow-rumpeds) At our cabin we'll put it on the deck railing and watch the "rain of redpolls" as we call it, just completely pack the 10' long railing. We love the years when redpolls are here in numbers. Personally, I find those "official" listings of diets are often behind what people who feed birds know. Although a good local wild bird seed store will also know these fascinating tidbits. We also have juncos cling to our suet logs and eat the suet. The redpolls, yellow-rumpeds and pine warblers all prefer the suet logs vs the few cages we have around. I think due to all the nooks and notches they're easier for them to get a grip on while eating. They'll all periodically go to our peanut feeders, too, but they prefer the suet. The pine warbler is most likely to frequent the peanut feeder vs the other birds. Until they have more widespread reports from backyard bird feeding, or the Wild Bird Feeding Industry does another study/poll, that data just doesn't get collected and reported. If you Google it, you'll often find blogs where people have documented it, too. That might help you if you're looking for date ranges. For redpolls in both Afton and Nisswa it's all winter long that they're eating suet. For yellow-rumpeds and pine it's of course just migration, but it is both spring and fall, more popular in the spring which is logical. Wishing you a fun migration viewing season - - Tami in Afton -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Steve Wilson Sent: Saturday, April 16, 2022 12:16 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [mou-net] Common Redpolls Eating Suet In early February I noticed my first observation of common redpolls eating suet that did not contain seeds of any type. At first it seemed to be a single bird, then a few, and has gained in popularity to where they are mobbing the suet ball today. Others in NE MN are reporting the same. It should be noted that reports of hundreds of redpolls at a single seed feeder are not unusual in the last week or so. I've not found anywhere, including in the authoritative Birds of the World species' account, that mentions suet as a food item. I'd like to document the extent of this behavior. To that end, I would appreciate receiving any reports on common redpolls eating non-seed-containing suet this winter, or in past winters, for that matter. If you noted any dates, please include them. Even approximations of when the behavior was first noted, numbers, and how the behavior progressed - or didn't - as time went on would be much appreciated. And of course the location. Replying to me individually is fine. Footnote: I just had two feeding on peanuts, which I've also not seen before, but peanuts are not so far afield from their supposed winter diet limited to vegetable matter. Thanks! Steve Wilson Tower, MN ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__moumn.org_listservice.html&d=DwICAg&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=5gIOkmnQ1nLB2gWkMnpF7Q&m=qCQ0LFcUdJ891vTR4xaMXWzp7q58pmziZNaIIgYoHHc&s=Tul5L4kjgqVcWwejI7bauGuVgyijjeCcaE-yI5zSO78&e= Archives: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.umn.edu_archives_mou-2Dnet.html&d=DwICAg&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=5gIOkmnQ1nLB2gWkMnpF7Q&m=qCQ0LFcUdJ891vTR4xaMXWzp7q58pmziZNaIIgYoHHc&s=zZNTIrAwEZfWJzuPsUymTPSO6H7GVnAm5QGVeviIEZk&e= During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
