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Post by NellyDee on May 28, 2015 14:33:23 GMT
I know I have been told before (Memory). Two Great Tits spend upwards of 1/2 an hour, chattering away, flitting from branch to branch and pecking away at the bark, as if trying to strip it. Any idea why they should do this? this is a photo on one of them who paused for a scratch.
 20150528_4 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr |
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Post by dogghound on May 28, 2015 22:40:43 GMT
Are they doing it in the same spot or different areas?
Are they peeling the bark or removing it?
I suspect that it's most likely they are feeding on scale insects, aphids and springtails on the bark. Even though they are small prey items they can be energetically productive if in good numbers and the birds will adopt this foraging stratergy.
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Post by NellyDee on May 30, 2015 14:08:31 GMT
It is the same place - large azalea. They are not peeling back the bark (saw this once with a blue tit totally shredded the buds and bark from a potted rowan) They are just pecking at the bark and periodically wiping their beaks on the branches. I had not thought that it would be tiny insects. Obviously really, especially as I think they are feeding young.
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Post by aeshna5 on May 30, 2015 18:12:29 GMT
They may be cleaning their bill if they seem to be just wiping their bills.
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