Bushtit Male photos by Larry Jordan
This is the photo of a male Bushtit I took in my front yard on Christmas day 2008, shortly after receiving my new camera, the Nikon D90. I was on a ladder, cleaning out the first of many nest boxes that Christmas morning, when a flock of these little 4 1/2 inch birds flew into the tree. I slowly got down off the ladder, went back into the house to get the camera, and slowly climbed back up the ladder.
To my surprise, the hungry little birds paid me no mind as I snapped off several photos with my newly acquired toy. But here is the strange thing, when I stepped outside Christmas day last week, the flock of Bushtits were in the very same tree as last year! This time I got some shots of this female.
Most field guides describe this bird as a small plain or even drab gray bird with a long tail. However, one of the interesting features of the Bushtit is the stark contrast between the black-eyed male and the intense look of the yellow-eyed female. Even though this is the only difference between the sexes, their plumage varies widely depending on their location and their gregarious nature and acrobatic maneuvers make them a true pleasure to watch.
These entertaining little birds spend most of their time, hanging upside down or sideways or in most any position, gleaning insects from mostly oak trees or coyote bush in the west. Part of the fun is that they travel in flocks of usually ten to forty birds, so when foraging it looks like the tree is alive with movement.
Here she is, gleaning insects from the oak buds.
Out on the Anderson Christmas Bird Count yesterday, I began to get a bit worried that we wouldn’t see any Bushtits. My worries were unfounded though because on one of our last stops we watched as a flock of about twenty of these little balls of energy, along with some Lesser Goldfinches, engulfed a rather large oak tree, giving us a total of 69 species observed by our group. The total species count for the outing was 114. What a fun and rewarding day!
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Gosh, they are cute :D!
The look on that second picture is priceless. Such a fierce little warrior 😀
Great bushtit photos…they’re hard to get photos of! I love those little guys, though they make me crazy in the spring cause they sound like warbler fledglings! sounds like you had a good christmas bird count!
.-= Jill´s last blog ..Burrowing Owl – Finally! =-.
ohhh by the way, I finally saw a Burrowing Owl. We don’t get a whole lot of them in Humboldt, so i was excited.
.-= Jill´s last blog ..Burrowing Owl – Finally! =-.
Awesome Bushtit photos. It would be a new bird for me and I loved your photos. It is a cute lil bird.
.-= Eileen´s last blog ..Black Necked Stilt reflection =-.
That is a cute little bird. Great photos Larry!
.-= MaineBirder´s last blog ..Favorite Life Birds 2000-2009 =-.
How delightful! I love that they were back the following Christmas in the same tree. That second photo really does seem like an intense individual, that stern look as though she’ll give you an earful if you cross her. They’re too cute!
Sounds like a great count. I’m glad you had such good success.
You guys sure had a lot of fun for the CBC! Th bushtits are such cute little buggers!
.-= bob k´s last blog ..A "song" for the holidays =-.
Beautiful little birds they look so fluffy.
.-= Neil´s last blog ..Rainbow Lorikeet =-.
Cute birds they are.
I should be thankful for your visit. Reading your post is very informative and a good resource, too. What a sad note though about the burrowing owls being evicted of their “ancestral” homes in California. Something must be done to conserve them.
.-= Japa´s last blog ..More Signs of Unrest Observed Within Mayon =-.
Love these action shots. Watching behavior is what pulls me in the most. What a joy to observe a whole flock foraging!
.-= Vickie´s last blog ..Who’s Boss? =-.
Great pics & congrats on that super new camera.
Noticed your advocacy for bluebirds–mtn bluebirds were somewhat scarce here until the bird box boom of the mid- to late-90s. Since that time, they are everywhere. It’s nice that, every once in awhile, the human animal can correct (artificial nesting boxes) a historical insult (eliminating dead tree nest sites) against our non-human brethren.
Are these the only birds that build these type of gourd or soft sock like nests? I get them every year but haven’t been able to see the birds using it? I don’t recognize the Bushtit as being in my yard.