Participant Photo: Eastern Phoebe visits my tray feeder
Additional images:
This is a first for me – I never had a Phoebe use one of my feeders before. This one began coming to the feeder for dried mealworms, but tried to grab them while hovering over the feeder. Eventually, it learned to land on the feeder to get the goodies. This was the first day the Phoebe employed that technique.
Categories: Other
Species: Eastern Phoebe
Comments
8 comments on “Participant Photo: Eastern Phoebe visits my tray feeder”
Wow, very unusual! A Phoebe at the feeder is something I’ve never seen before!
As I said, it surprised me also, but the bird keeps coming back every day.
I have a couple coming to my feeder for the first time ever! I am located in SE Minnesota.I am amazed and delighted. I believe they are eating the cracked corn. I wonder if they will stay all winter.
I’ve been seeing some Phoebes come to a feeder for the first time as well! They’ve raised their young here two years in a row, so they’ve been around but never came close to a feeder. Every time they come I’m still in amazement! Ours is just a regular old tray feeder filled with dried mealworms as well.
Funny, we for the first time also have a eastern phoebe at our tube feeder and water bath as of today, Mark and Vicky
Norton ohio
We have had an Eastern Phoebe at our feeder and birdbath all week. Been so cool.
In the Atlanta area I regularly have phoebes visit my feeders, particularly for suet and mealworms. Last year a particularly friendly one amazed me. The first time the bird flew directly at me. When I figured out it just wanted food I put some in my hand. What a thrill for the bird to eat from my hand! Now I have at least two phoebes. These don’t eat from my hand but I’ll always cherish the one that did.
We had a phoebe come to our deck – not because of the feeder, but because of the wasps coming to our oriole feeder. It was unique and enjoyable for my wife and I to see the phoebe flying up and down and all around the deck, catching the wasps!
Eastern Phoebes are now visiting all of our feeders, primarily eating dried mealworms, dried BSF larvae, and I actually observed one Phoebe eating some seed (either white millet, hulled sunflower seeds, &/or saffron seeds). They began hunting in the open section of our backyard, perching on tall 4×4’s and swooping down to catch a meal, then returning to the high ground. After about a week, they finally noticed the feeders and made the rounds like Goldilocks. These Phoebes are undeniably BIRBS – so fluffy and rounded – they look like Peeps wearing a British mod cap.
My son was blowing off the backyard (prior to predicted snow in Atlanta) and one followed him around, eating the insects he uncovered. The cutie even landed on his head while he had the blower going!
So cool!