re hungry Say's Phoebes in winter

[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

Recently Bob Righter posed some interesting questions on COBIRDS about what an individual Say's Phoebe he observed recently in the Denver area might be getting to eat under eaves.  Once I got past my amazement that Bob is related by marriage to someone 103 years old, my private response to Bob guessed the answer might include European Paper Wasps (Polistes dominula), an introduced black-and-yellow wasp closely resembling a typical "yellowjacket" that reached CO in the early 2000s.  They form small combs under eaves and have become quite common.  By contrast, most yellowjacket wasps species nest in the ground, with two nesting in aerial "hives" in trees with the combs being surrounded by an elaborate, round, gray paper mache covering.  Unhatched immature European Paper Wasps, dead or alive, in white-capped cells of these combs would seem the most likely source of nutrition for a curious insectivore investigating eaves.  Flycatchers are known to favor bees and wasps, in some situations as much or more than flies.  My reply to Bob included photos of the wasp and a related situation of a pewee with a yellowjacket in it bill.  Bob suggested I post this to COBIRDS.  Thinking the photos were a significant part of the response, and since photo sharing on COBIRDS is difficult (why is that?), I didn't take him up on his suggestion.  Then he wondered further if perhaps what seems like more wintering Say's Phoebes this year than normal could be directly tied to the increasing presence of European Paper Wasps on our scene.  I told him without direct evidence, it was a stretch, but a question worth continuing to investigate. 

So, I am asking, has anyone out there seen a Say's Phoebe visiting a little wasp comb under an eave?  Have you seen any other bird species tearing apart a wasp comb under an eave (flicker, barn swallow, etc.)?  Inquiring minds want to know.  Assuming, hoping, some meaty anecdotes are out there, this might be the subject of a future "The Hungry Bird" column in "Colorado Birds".  Thanks.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

[Carol Kampert]

Hi Dave,

I don't have information about birds feasting on wasps under eves (I will now keep my eyes open for them), but I do have a question about "yellow jackets" that make the big ball-shaped nests in trees. I've always thought that the common name for these wasps was "bald-faced hornet".  Are they actually a type of "yellow jacket?"  I know common names are misleading and would be interested in the scientific names, too. (I'm fascinated by paper wasps and their ability to make such beautiful paper, which I have used in fiber wall hangings in the past.)

Carol Kampert, Boulder  

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[Deborah Carstensen]

Speaking of Says' phoebes, I have a question about whether or not they would eat box elder bugs. I have had a terrible infestation of Box Elder bugs for the last couple of years and, last spring, I saw hundreds of baby Box Elder bugs running around my garden.

    I had Say's phoebes nesting  just above my living room picture window this summer and I noticed that I had almost no Box Elder bugs as the summer wore on. I never saw them on the ground eating bugs so I wasn't sure that they would've had anything to do with their absence.

   By the way, there couldn't have been any cuter nestlings then the phoebes! Instead of squawking for food, they had soft, whistling calls. They could rent out my drainpipe anytime!

Deborah Carstensen, Littleton, Arapahoe county
Sent from my iPhone

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[Deborah Carstensen]

Oh my gosh, in my post about the Say's phoebes eating ground bugs, I said that they were box elder bugs. That's not right! They were earwigs! I had terrible infestations of earwigs over the last few years and they're hard for me to manage so I was glad when they didn't seem to be a problem this year even though I saw the big hatching. 

    So, do you think that if phoebes would go after the earwigs?

Thanks, Deb Carstensen, Littleton, Arapahoe county

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 3, 2016, at 10:43 AM, DAVID A LEATHERMAN <daleat...@msn.com> wrote:

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