I sent the following reply but it didn’t go to the group so I’ll send it again:
Townsend’s Warblers are regular winter visitors to western Oregon in the
winter. They often tend to stay at elevations above about 500 ft but can
sometimes be seen in the lowlands. Until 2 years ago we lived in the south
hills of Eugene and regularly had 15-20 visiting our suet everyday from fall to
spring. Now that we are on the flats we seldom see them unless we go higher.
Our winter population breeds around the Queen Charlotte Islands. The Townsend’s
Warblers breeding in the Cascades go to the mountains of southern Mexico for
the winter. They’re always a nice spot of color to see on cold winter days.
Since I’m sending again but to all I’ll add some interesting info some of you
may not be aware of. Our Townsend’s Warblers breeding here typically forage
high in the conifers, presumably taking insects. But it’s in the winter in the
highlands of Mexico where things get interesting. There, one of their main
foods is honeydew. Honeydew is a sweet liquid excreted by aphids. When they
poke into a plant cell to feed the pressure in the cell causes a drop of liquid
to be excreted from the anus. This is sweet and the warblers go for it. They
are careful not to kill the aphid so that more honeydew can be produced and
gathered. Some ants “herd” aphids to also get this honeydew.
Dan Gleason
Owner, Wild Birds Unlimited of Eugene
Ornithology Instructor, retired, University of Oregon
dan-gleason@xxxxxxxxxxx
On Dec 24, 2021, at 11:25 AM, Jeff and Lauretta Young
<jeffandlaurettayoung@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
a single Townsend’s warbler appeared at our feeders today (
Beaverton-Bethany area)
had not seen until today although my neighbor saw it yesterday two houses
away so still around.
did not see any others
seems early for migrants… ?
but maybe it knows about the upcoming storms..
Happy holidays to the many people whoses posts I enjoy all year
Lauretta Young*******
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On Dec 24, 2021, at 11:25 AM, Jeff and Lauretta Young
<jeffandlaurettayoung@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
a single Townsend’s warbler appeared at our feeders today (
Beaverton-Bethany area)
had not seen until today although my neighbor saw it yesterday two houses
away so still around.
did not see any others
seems early for migrants… ?
but maybe it knows about the upcoming storms..
Happy holidays to the many people whoses posts I enjoy all year
Lauretta Young*******
UNSUBSCRIBE: www.freelists.org/list/obol
OBOL archives: www.freelists.org/archive/obol
Contact moderator: obol-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
