They may be getting insect larvae out of the moss. When I asked about the
Crows that picked at the moss on the neighbor's roof, a now deceased
bryophyte expert from OSU told me that there are crane fly larvae in the
type of moss you see on roofing shingles.
Pam
On Thu, Mar 16, 2023, 1:21 PM larspernorgren <larspernorgren@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
The Ides of March has for me been the watershed of the seasons. Last
night, Wednesday 3/15 a Spotted Towhee was at our feeder. Pretty ho-hum at
a host of human homes l know, but the first detection at our place since
October. Half our barn roof is still covered in snow. This morning multiple
Mountain Quail were communicating for seven minutes behind the barn. It had
been so long since a sign of this once regular visitor than only yesterday
l suggested to a friend eager to visit for the express goal of seeing the
Quail that they might be extricated in our neighborhood.
Leaving for work a Raven flew low over my car and landed in the top
of the closest alder to our mailbox. I parked the car and watched it peel
a blanket of green moss off a limb. It spent several minutes, not picking
off pieces but seeming to be careful to get a large intact sheet. I know
where the nest tree is, but thought the Raven might be reluctant to go
there with such evidence in its beak. As l prepared to start the car it
flew directly to that tree, which they seem to use as a night roost outside
breeding season.
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
