Bushtit Being Still for a few Seconds - Rare Event
Aug 29, 2020 19:23:24 #
American Bushtit - Psaltriparus minimus
The day I got this there were 2 or 3 flocks buzzing around the park pond like a bunch of little nervous breakdowns looking for a place to happen. Normal for Bushtits in my experience.
They are smaller than many types of hummingbirds weighing about the same as 4 paper clips. Among if not the smallest song bird in the world. One species in the Americas and 7 others in Eurasia. They do not migrate in the Americas but move from place to place looking for food and shelter in the winter. The coastal birds like this one are darker than the inland birds. They eat small insects that feed on plants and the occasional small spider they find on a plant. The only plant derived foods they have rarely been seen to eat are olives and a few types of berries which they peck tiny pieces off.
The part of the hanging nest they lay eggs in is roughly the size of a quarter and adult male bachelors will often help a pair feed, care for and guard the babies.
I was sitting on a rock in the shade watching for an egret at one of the spill ways to move where the stone work didn't hide 90% of the bird when I heard faint sounds above me. Looked up, a flock of Bushtits were hunting small bugs on the leaves over head. This one stayed on the same leaf in half way decent light long enough for a few frames. It was like he heard my shutter and looked right at me before snatching the bug he had found and flying away.
7DII, 100-400L mk1 @ 190, 1/2000 @ f/6.7, ISO-1250 handheld in noon light
The day I got this there were 2 or 3 flocks buzzing around the park pond like a bunch of little nervous breakdowns looking for a place to happen. Normal for Bushtits in my experience.
They are smaller than many types of hummingbirds weighing about the same as 4 paper clips. Among if not the smallest song bird in the world. One species in the Americas and 7 others in Eurasia. They do not migrate in the Americas but move from place to place looking for food and shelter in the winter. The coastal birds like this one are darker than the inland birds. They eat small insects that feed on plants and the occasional small spider they find on a plant. The only plant derived foods they have rarely been seen to eat are olives and a few types of berries which they peck tiny pieces off.
The part of the hanging nest they lay eggs in is roughly the size of a quarter and adult male bachelors will often help a pair feed, care for and guard the babies.
I was sitting on a rock in the shade watching for an egret at one of the spill ways to move where the stone work didn't hide 90% of the bird when I heard faint sounds above me. Looked up, a flock of Bushtits were hunting small bugs on the leaves over head. This one stayed on the same leaf in half way decent light long enough for a few frames. It was like he heard my shutter and looked right at me before snatching the bug he had found and flying away.
7DII, 100-400L mk1 @ 190, 1/2000 @ f/6.7, ISO-1250 handheld in noon light
Aug 29, 2020 19:39:25 #
Aug 29, 2020 19:49:20 #
Aug 29, 2020 22:41:26 #
Aug 29, 2020 22:59:39 #
Aug 29, 2020 22:59:57 #
Aug 29, 2020 23:00:17 #
Aug 30, 2020 06:49:08 #
Aug 30, 2020 07:08:47 #
Aug 30, 2020 07:52:50 #
Aug 30, 2020 08:38:13 #
Aug 30, 2020 08:56:36 #
Nice one! And when you see the nest, it's hard to believe it could be made by such a tiny, hyperactive bird.
Mike
Mike
Aug 30, 2020 08:58:15 #
Aug 30, 2020 09:04:40 #
Aug 30, 2020 10:39:47 #
Very nice work on this one, Robert.
--Bob
--Bob
robertjerl wrote:
American Bushtit - Psaltriparus minimus br br The... (show quote)
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