Finches eating my cherry blossoms? (1 Viewer)

[vintagechick]

This is our third spring in our house and it's the first time I've noticed this bird behavior. Small birds, including house finches and another kind that I'm not sure of the identity, are trying to hover around the blossoms on our pie cherry tree in the front yard. The tree is covered in blossoms as it is every year. The birds look like they are trying to imitate hummingbirds and hover at the flowers to eat something. They look like they are working very hard, where hummers make it look effortless. I counted 10 at one time on the tree.

The bird I can't identify has a yellow breast and grey and black back. They have a white stripe on their shoulders. Could they be another type of finch?

Our living room is on the second floor of the house, so we look out into the tall, old cherry tree. It's a great way to watch the birds and squirrels. Later in the year they all love to feast on the pie cherries. They don't miss very many because I don't have many volunteer seedlings coming up each spring! I appreciate their thoroughness.

CindyB
Salem, OR

 

[fugl]

The bird I can't identify has a yellow breast and grey and black back. They have a white stripe on their shoulders. Could they be another type of finch?

One of the goldfinches, maybe, Lesser or American?

 

[vintagechick]

Here's a better description, now that it's daylight again:

Gray andblack head and back and wings
Yellow stripe on the top of the head
Yellow above the tail and under wings
Two white stripes on shoulder/wing
Inverted black "V" on chest, with the rest of the chest being light gray

They are a little rounder in shape than the finches and tend to chase each other off a lot. If my camera wasn't on the blink, I'd take a photo and post it! They are very striking looking little birds.

Thanks!
CindyB

 

[fugl]

Yellow-rumped Warbler

 

[vintagechick]

Thanks fugl. That's exactly right.

The funny thing is that the finches are eating the same flowers by sitting on the branch and leaning over to eat. The warblers are working much harder for what appears to be the same end. I'll have to watch them a bit more. Maybe their body construction is a bit different from the finches and it makes it necessary to eat this way?

CindyB
Salem, OR