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| Pygmy Nuthatch on Poison Hemlock, Elk Glen Lake |
I've been taking a break from using the compact camera, so when I rounded Elk Glen Lake on my walk the other day and encountered a raucous flock of pygmy nuthatches feeding on poison hemlock seeds, at eye level and just a few feet away, I could only admire the scene in a state of wonder. These tiny birds normally operate high in the tall pines and sometimes in ordinary trees, but I'd never seen them going nuts for poison hemlock before.
It took another half-hour or so to finish the walk and get back home, but the whole thing was interesting enough to take a chance on going back there with my bike and the Z8. I figured they wouldn't be in the same patch of poison hemlock, but I did manage to find them in another nearby patch, cheerfully going about their business.
Poison hemlock seeds are deadly poisonous to people and other mammals, and even to some birds (like California quail), but pygmy nuthatches and a few others are able to eat them with impunity.
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| In a tree just behind me, a juvenile junco (bigger than a pygmy nuthatch) waited on a branch for its parents to bring it some food. |
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| A couple of chestnut-backed chickadees joined the feast. |
Once the nuthatches had moved out of range I rode down to Mallard Lake since I was already so close. The great blue heron and black-crowned night heron that had been there during my morning walk were gone, but I noticed hummingbirds and pygmy nuthatches coming down to drink from the little creek.
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| Allen's Hummingbird |
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