Recently I saw mentioned that Pine Grosbeaks prefer the seeds and often don’t eat the whole berries when foraging on Mountian Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) berries. This is contrast to American Robins, Varied Thrushes, and Bohemian Waxwings – other species seen around here that eat the whole fruit.

I have seen Pine Grosbeaks eating Mountain Ash berries several times, but hadn’t ever really noticed that they didn’t eat the whole fruit. While out looking for the Townsend’s Solitaire the day after it was found, I watched a small group of grosbeaks eating berries. There were some berry skins on the ground, and the grosbeaks generally seemed to have a bit of a mess on their bills (as seen in the picture above) – presumably from mashing the berries up to extract the seed before dropping what remains of the flesh. Perhaps now I can sometimes track grosbeak presence by noticing the berry skins they leave behind.

Connor and I had a good time watching Bohemian Waxwings and Yellow-rumped Warblers on Hemlock Street today. The birds were quite cooperative.

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I think this Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) was probably stretching its wing while eating berries.

One of about 100 Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) foraging on berries in a Sitka neighborhood.

The Bohemian Waxwings flew quite close to us as we stood there watching them.

These berries were growing on an ornamental bush, but I am not sure what species. The Bohemian Waxwings seemed to like them.

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) eating Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) berries.

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) taking a break from eating Mountain Ash berries.

Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) eating Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) berries.

This was one of two Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata) we saw. This is a very late date for them to be around.

This was one of two Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata) we saw. This is a very late date for them to be around.

This was one of two Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata) we saw. This is a very late date for them to be around.

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) eating Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) berries.

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) eating Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) berries.

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) eating Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) berries.

Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) eating berries from an ornamental shrub.

Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) eating berries from an ornamental shrub.

Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) eating berries from an ornamental shrub.

Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) eating berries from an ornamental shrub.

Bohemian Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) eating berries from an ornamental shrub.

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) eating berries from an ornamental shrub.

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) eating berries from an ornamental shrub.

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) eating berries from an ornamental shrub.

One of about 20 Bohemian Waxwings observed eating Mt. Ash berries on 14 December 2007.

Rowan and I were riding down Biorka Street and approaching the intersection with Park Street when I heard a chirring call that sounded familiar. It took me a moment to locate the birds crossing the street above and in front of me to land in the top of a spruce tree. The light and angle were poor for a good look at the birds, and I had decided not to bring my binoculars and camera (which I typically take all the time), so I was not absolutely sure they were waxwings at first. Still, the call of waxwings is pretty distinctive, so I was pretty confident. Over Rowan’s mild protestations I waited for a few minutes to see if they would fly to a nearby Mountain Ash tree where I could get a better look at them and confirm their identity. Finally they did cross the Park Street to a Mountain Ash tree with many berries still remaining on it. There was also a Raven in the tree eating berries, and they seemed a little bit wary. They did not stay long before flying again to the top of a tall alder tree. By this point Rowan was becoming more insistent, and I did not have my camera or binoculars anyway, so I decided we should probably just go home.

I thought Connor might be interested in looking for birds after school today, so I picked him up from school. After a stop by Swan Lake, we walked down Degroff and crossed over to Park Street. At the corner of Park and Biorka, I started hearing the waxwings. A few flew up from the corner Mt. Ash to join others at the top of a tall alder just down the street. Connor and I sat down at the edge of the road to see if they would come back. After a few minutes of waiting, first a couple, then a few more, and finally the whole flock of about 20 birds flew over to the Mountain Ash tree and started eating berries. They did not stay long, flying back to the same tall alder after getting spooked by a couple of cars (including one kind of noisy one) that appeared at the intersection together. Connor agreed to wait a little bit longer to see if they would return. Our patience was rewarded as they followed the same approach pattern as before, first a couple of birds, then a few more, and finally the rest of the flock returned to the Mountain Ash tree. I was able to get a pretty good look and a few pictures of a few of them on this visit before they retreated back to the same tall alder. Though I was not sure after the first sighting this morning, all the birds I saw this afternoon were Bohemian Waxwings rather than their similar (but rarely occuring locally) relatives Cedar Waxwings.

The behavior I observed today made me wonder a little bit about the foraging strategy for these birds. On occasions in the past I have seen lone Bohemian Waxwings moving fairly rapidly through an area, but not without stopping briefly. It was almost like these individuals were scouting around. Those observations made me wonder if flocks will have scouts out looking for food sources which then inform the flock if any good food sources were discovered. Today’s behavior only reminded me of those previous observations because of the way only one or two birds first flew to the tree where they were eating berries.

One of about 20 Bohemian Waxwings observed eating Mt. Ash berries on 14 December 2007.