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Welcome to BirdTracks® Online!
An email newsletter from
Wild Birds Unlimited for August 2005.

In This Issue:
 - Bird of the Month: Bushtit
 - Fun Facts About the Bushtit
 - Products to Attract and Enjoy Bushtits
 - Take the Swallow Hollow Nature Trail
 - Operation Migration Update

Bushtits - The Tiny Team Player
(If you are lucky enough to live in the west or southwest part of North America - within the range of the tiny Bushtit - you are in for a treat.)

It pays to have friends when you are small! Whether it's seeking safety in numbers or help with the work load, life can be much simpler and safer with the aid of a few good friends.

Just ask a Bushtit! Weighing less than 1/5 of an ounce and standing less than four inches tall, it is one of the smallest songbirds found in North America. And it does almost nothing alone! Bushtits are highly gregarious and have a complex social system. Outside of the breeding season, they travel and forage in flocks of up to 60 birds that are created by mixed family groups joining together.

While this flocking behavior breaks down during the nesting season, research has shown that an average of over one-third of all Bushtits' nests have an additional helper beyond the mated pair. This extra individual can be male or female, juvenile or adult, but the majority of them are adult males that do not have a mate of their own. These helpers assist the parents in nest construction, incubating eggs and feeding the young.

Bushtits also know that it pays to have friends when you are trying to stay warm on a cold night. Large flocks roost together among the dense branches of a tree or shrub, staying warm by huddling close together.

Bushtits are very tame and fearless of humans. So if you would like to be added to their long list of friends, consider adding a bird bath or suet feeder to your backyard. But be careful - they may put their new friends to work, too!

Fun Facts About the Bushtit

• The Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) is the only species of long-tailed tit in North America.
• Bushtit are remarkable in the fact that they are one of the smallest birds found in North America and about half their four inch length is made up by their long tail!
• The one-foot-long hanging nest of a Bushtit resembles an Orioles nest and is woven out of a variety of materials including mosses, lichens, leaves and spider's webs.
• Bushtits constantly chatter as they travel around bushes and trees in small social groups.
• While foraging for insects Bushtits stretch and reach in all sorts of odd positions, often upside down in the manner of chickadees.
• Bushtits cope with the cold temperatures while roosting at night by closely huddling together in large groups. They also construct heavily insulated nests to protect their nestlings from the cold.
• In the mountains of southeastern Arizona, research has shown that an average of 37% of all Bushtits nests have an extra helper beyond the mated pair. These extra individuals can be male or female, juvenile or adult. The majority are adult males that do not have a mate of their own.
• Look at a Bushtit's eyes to tell if it is a male or female. In an adult female the iris is light (cream, yellow, or white) and in the males it is black.
• Bushtits travel together in flocks of up to 40 individuals in late summer, fall, winter, and early spring. They have been recorded in flocks up to 100 during the summer.
• The typical call of the Bushtit is very soft and bell-like. They do not have a song.
• Bushtits are very tame and fearless of humans.
• Adult Bushtits with active nests can be identified by their frayed and bent tail-feathers.
• Bushtits have such a small body weight to size ratio (average weight is 5.5 g) that it results in high rate of body heat loss. Individuals need to eat about 80% of their weight per day in insects to avoid losing weight.

Products to Attract and Enjoy Bushtits
Providing a source of water for bushtits and other birds is very important this time of year. Try a birdbath, a pond, a mister or a dripper. Birds that might not visit a feeder may find a birdbath or running water irresistible. Often, simply the sound of dripping water will attract birds to your yard. Whatever source of water you decide to provide for your birds, it's important that you keep it clean. Replenish water often, and scrub birdbaths and accessories as needed to prevent bacteria from building up.

Bushtits are also attracted to suet. Suet may be offered in a simple hanging suet basket or you may use a birdfeeder that has a suet feeder built in to the side.

Be sure to check your local Wild Birds Unlimited store for the best products and advice regarding adding a source of water or suet to your backyard habitat.

Operation Migration Update
Many of you may be interested in following the progress of the fascinating work that is being done by Operation Migration to reintroduce the Whooping Crane to eastern North America. An often updated field journal is available chronicling the latest activity of the Operation Migration team.

Get involved: So far, Operation Migration's team has helped over 40 Whooping cranes learn to migrate along their ancestors' ancient route. Years of work are still ahead before the Whooping Crane population can be removed from the endangered species list, but with your support it will happen. Together, we can make history!

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