Birding Lake Park this morning in Milwaukee the highlight was a Black-capped Chickadee eating Staghorn Sumac seeds at a group of plants. An American Robin also made a brief appearance for some seeds but did not hang around. What a great native plant as this species provides food for so many bird species in the spring of the year. It was a bright sunny day but the northeast steady wind off the lake made for a cold almost spring day. Images were taken on March 19, 2018.
One of my favorites, Jim. They are so friendly !
Your photos make me smile.
I wonder how this food source survived all the foraging birds during the winter? Great photos, Jim!
Oh lordy, Jim, these are just stunning! You captured the fiery color and texture of these sumac clusters as well as the delicate feathers landing on them! It makes one wonder what the proportion of fuzz to seed is – only the little Chickadee knows. He pauses to swallow, and then goes back to breakfast. For the first time, I observed a female bluebird who showed up by our boxes last week fly over to our sumac grove. I saw her poke at the clusters and wondered if she was selecting seeds or maybe finding dried spiders. I’m elated to see you confirm that songbirds do eat sumac berries. Makes me want to try a bowl myself!