A Goldfinch challenge for David Leatherman

[dgulb...@gmail.com]

Why would a Goldfinch cling to a brick wall for a minute and a half?

At 7 AM when I walked into my garden I was treated to a brilliant Amer.

Goldfinch male who flew directly from my Bachelor Button patch to the

side of my yellow-brick garage.  The brick has an extremely rough texture,

so it was easy to cling to.  Although there were lots of "gnats" in the air,

there weren't any near the wall, which is protected by a 3' overhang.  I expected

the bird to immediately move on, but he lingered and lingered, making little

pecking movements at the brick and perhaps at the mortar.  It came to mind

that Amazon parrots peck up clay, but it seems unlikely that 80-year-old mortar

would be digestible.  Maybe a small spider or spider eggs?  After the bird left,

I examined the wall but could see absolutely nothing. If it was a small spider, how

extraordinary that the bird saw it in the shade from 25 yards away.

P.S. to gardeners: Bachelor Buttons are incredibly easy to grow, and they self-sow,

so there's almost no work involved in having a patch.  Bees, including some native

bees, love it, and American Goldfinches, Lesser Goldfinches, and House Finches

will come to it from time to time for the developing seeds.

David Gulbenkian, Crown Hill area, Jeffco

[Jeff Percell]

Is it possible it was cleaning it's bill? I observe various finches clean their bill after eating some seeds, by whiping each side against a small branch, alternating sides several times almost like one would run a knife against a sharpener. Just one possibility of something it could be doing if not going after a food source.

Thanks,

Jeff Percell

Erie, CO

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[Paula Hansley]

What about getting little pieces of grit from the mortar or brick for their gizzards??? !!!

Paula Hansley 

Louisville 

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Paula Hansley

Petrographic Consultants International, Inc.

Ph:  720-890-2628

[Dave]

David et al,

Paula might be right.  Other possibilities are small ants, spider hatchlings, clover mites, other tiny arthropods.  Let us know if you figure it out.

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins (currently in Lamar)

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 4, 2023, at 9:35 AM, Paula Hansley <plha...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[mblac...@fastmail.com]

Hello all,

 

I’ve been witnessing a similar behavior with the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds at my house.    One will hover near the cement mortar around the brick exterior and then fly in and peck at that mortar, for several times.   I’ve witnessed this on more than one occasion.   I also have watched the females fly down to exposed dirt and peck (for lack of a better word) at the dirt.  They will even sit on the ground and peck at the dirt.   I had thought they might be gathering nesting material, but they just flew up to an overhanging limb and sat there.  (This limb is not somewhere they built a nest, just a favorite sitting limb.)

 

With the cement mortar, I was wondering if they are getting calcium from that....  

Open to comments.

 

Maureen Blackford

Boulder County

8500’ elevation

[Barbara Seibert]

I've observed similar behavior with the yard house finches. They gather by the brick garden wall (stacked, no morter) from time to time, and peck away at the bricks. I've assumed that they were after insects of some sort.

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[Steve B]

I think Paula and Dave are right, but primarily the birds are consuming grit, tiny bits of sand to help digest seeds and the chitinous shells of insects.   I've often seen hummingbirds go to ground, sometimes standing on the surface of the sidewalk or gravel driveway to collect sand with their tongues.  I first saw this long ago at the hummingbird aviary at the Desert Museum in Tucson where the closed environment makes it easy to see this behavior throughout the day.

Steve Bouricius

Peaceful Valley

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[Courtney R]

Are there possibly calcium deposits in or

on the bricks? I just read a relevant question in Sibley’s bird trivia game today regarding why birds eat paint chips off of buildings, and wonder if the same thing is happening here and that they are doing it to obtain calcium. See below:

Thank you,

Courtney (Lafayette, CO) 

Courtney Rella, PhD

dr.ca...@gmail.com

On Jul 6, 2023, at 15:19, Steve B <stevebo...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[dgulb...@gmail.com]

Nothing on the surface of the bricks, but limestone (calcium carbonate) is the chief ingredient of mortar.  There is also sand.

Thanks to all who suggested answers!