Energetic Balls of Feathers: Bushtits along the Tuolumne River Trail

I haven't posted much about Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) lately. It's not that I don't love them. I adore them, and I love watching flocks of them work their way through the brush nibbling small insects and the like. They will flit by practically in front of my face hardly caring that a gigantic monster could almost reach out and grab them. But they never stop moving! I just can't seem to find the energy to try and track them, get them in focus, and snap a picture before they jump to the next branch.

But then today I was wandering along the Tuolumne River trail as I often do, and a small group of them perched on a bush just a short distance away. And waited. And waited. Until I decided to pull out the camera and snap a few pictures, and then they twittered away to the next bush. But then they really did let me take a couple of shots before disappearing again.

They breed along the trail. I haven't found any nests yet this year, but they are truly unique and often well-hidden in plain sight. They are sock-like bags made of webs and fibers that look like random plant debris. It is a little unsettling to see the mass moving and squirming, but then it's better when the cute little bird sticks its head out the top to look around.

 

OMG! What is That...Thing? And Why is it Moving?

I was walking as I often do when I saw this "thing" hanging from some branches in an oak tree. I wondered for a moment what kind of strange fungus was growing in the tree, but then it moved! Was it some kind of alien pod? The imagination runs wild in such strange moments. I set the video to "on" and waited to see what would happen. You can see the results below...

Well, heck. It was just a little Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) working on its admittedly bizarre nest. The bag-like structure is composed of spiderwebs and plant materials, and can take a month to construct. Bushtits are communal birds, and several other Bushtits may assist in raising the young. They will sleep together inside the nest.

I enjoy watching the Bushtit flocks work their way through the branches of a tree seeking out bugs. But they are a pain to photograph because they barely ever stop moving. Here are some of my previous posts that show them in a better light!

As Cute as They Get: Bushtit on the Tuolumne River

The Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) are busy little birds of the underbrush. They barely ever stop moving in their search for small insects, hopping from branch to branch like little Energizer Bunnies. And they are as cute as a bird can be, with their little beaks and furry looking ping-pong ball bodies.

The females have different-looking eyes and seem a little bit more stern (I featured them two months ago). The black eyes of the males make them simply look like toys. If you live in the American West, you have a pretty good chance of spying these birds, in any place with lots of open shrubs. They forage together in flocks of a few dozen individuals. But good luck getting pictures! They rarely pause in their work.

A Ping Pong Ball with a Long Tail: Bushtit on the Tuolumne River

EBird describes it as a flying ping pong ball with a long tail, and that's about right for the Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus). They fail to mention that watching them is not unlike trying to watch the ball at pro ping pong matches. They never seem to stop moving. I've seen dozens of them on my recent walking trips in several environments, and I've wasted many minutes trying to get a reasonable picture.

I got lucky the other day on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail. For reasons unknown to me, one of the females stopped to consider my presence and sat still for a few seconds, long enough to snap a couple of pictures. The males of these cute little birds have black eyes, but the females are quite different, with a golden ring around the pupil. To me it makes the female like the mature serious one in the bunch.

The flock was exploring the same elderberry bower that I spied the Phainopeplas in a day earlier. As fall arrives, more and more bird species are utilizing the berries for food. The Bushtits are insect eaters, so they're probably after the bugs among the fruits.

Bushtit in the Joe Domecq Wilderness on the Tuolumne River

The Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) are not easy to photograph, in my experience anyway. They are small, hard to see, and they never stop moving. Nevertheless, I've captured some shots of the males on occasion, but today includes the first shots I've gotten of a female. The main difference is the pale eyes, which to me in my anthropomorphic style, makes me think the females are judging me. The males, with their totally black eyes look cute in the manner of stuffed animals...

"Judging you? No, my chirping is just constructive criticism of your birding skills"

We were wandering through the Joe Domecq Wilderness Park on the Tuolumne River near Old Basso Bridge, and I walked a half mile or so looking to see who was out and about and saw pretty much nothing. I got back to where Mrs. Geotripper was sitting, just watching one tree. It turned out to be a good strategy because after a few moments of standing, I had shots of the Bushtit as well as two other species, including the Ash-throated Flycatcher of the previous post.

The Bushtits are a bird of the western U.S. and Mexico. They are the only species of their family found in North America. According to Cornell, there are seven species in Eurasia. They build a hanging nest that Cornell describes as "remarkable", but I haven't spied one yet.

Bushtit on the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail

Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) are the essence of cuteness. It always cheers me to see them, and it always is frustrating to photograph them. They never, ever seem to sit still. There is an elderberry shrub along the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail in Waterford that forms a sort of bower. If I stand quietly in the middle of the bush, the birds will eventually ignore me and feed on the berries or bugs. That's how I got these pictures earlier in the month.

I got some pictures of Bushtits earlier this year in the same kind of bushes at Joe Domecq Wilderness Park. It never ceases to amaze me how diverse the birds are in this region. Prior to picking up my new hobby, I would never have noticed these diminutive little creatures.