Request re Bay-breasted Warbler

[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

Great bird, great detection and ID work Mr. Contreras and Mr. Nunes, great photography Tom and Glenn.  Can see why Pine was in the initial list of species being considered and I agree with Brandon about those legs seeming atypical in color.  Bay on flank, shortish tail, and strength of wingbars cinch it.  Bird did not look nearly as yellow overall in Glenn's pics as it did in Tom's.  The value of multiple images. 

Can anyone add any insight as to why the Boulder Bay-breasted Warbler favors that one pine tree?  Does it nitpick at needles, flush and hover glean/flycatch, what?  I suspect the attraction is aphids (needle or woolly types) or scales (brown "tortoise" types or white "pine needle" types).  All of these would be on needles, around buds at branch ends, or on the surface of small twigs/branches.  If anyone who has been there, or anyone who goes in the future, could pay attention to how the bird is foraging, what it's getting (take a picture of same?), I am curious and would be grateful.  Thanks.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

[JBreitsch - Denver]

Hi Dave,

 

The entire time I watched the bird it was very methodical.  It started on a lower branch and worked its way outward.  It then hopped up a branch and worked its way back to the trunk.  It continued to do this, just moving around and upwards.  It seemed to pick at whatever needles were closest and a bit on the branches themselves.  It never sallied out at any point while I was there, which was between 11:05 - 11:30. Thanks to the leaf blowing crew for immediately pointing me to the tree when they saw me coming with my camera.  They must've been amused by the steady stream of visitors.

 

Here is a picture of it reaching for food.  A managed a few others, but none as nice as Tom or Glenn's.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/breitschbirding/10747317296/

 

 

John Breitsch

Denver, Colorad

http://www.flickr.com/photos/breitschbirding/