That’s Great Grub, Bub!

This gallery contains 3 photos. Seeing bird beaks emerge, partially or fully covered in seed from the suet feeder or the seed bowl, is a common sight, but we wondered: can any bird stick its whole head into the holes of the suet feeder?

The first swarm to hit the suet feeder today. Brave little lads and lassies!

Evidently the Grey Bushtit can! Like a moth to a flame, the Grey Bushtits swarmed en masse onto the suet feeder early this afternoon. They’re not the most frequent visitors, but they can’t be missed when they do show up.

Talk about engrossed in your food

The magnetic attraction of the free but dwindling food sources was such that they did not even notice (or care about) the human shooting Extreme Macros of the buds of the plum tree, less than six feet away (I’m not sure if I should be amused, or insulted 🙂 ). And yes, that’s the closest I have ever gotten to these round balls of grey feathers. I daresay that that’s the closest this bunch has gotten to humans in this neighbourhood, too.

Look, Bob’s poking his head through the hole!

In addition to today’s usual contingent of Northern Flickers, Varied Thrush, Spotted Towhee and Juncos, I also saw a lone male Anna’s hummingbird, too. Honest. You know that a photo of that flyer would be impossible. An infrequent visitor, he didn’t drink from the feeder, but chose to zip up and down the laurel bushes near the sunroom and by the picnic area. What a nice green jewel he would be to photograph, though–his plumage is distinctive, even in the green of the bushes!

We have noticed two things: the birds who have been regular visitors to our backyard look a bit plumper now; and, the best way to get good photos is to not fill up on the seed and suet when they start running low … because even the flightier birds will actually stay at the feeders longer! Ain’t that the Machievellian truth.