I’m not sure why they visit so infrequently (but regularly) but it seems that every so often a flock of Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) comes through, visits our suet feeder, and are gone for another week. It’s almost as if they have a regular route and our feeder is on it.

I do love seeing these energetic little acrobats and look forward to their occasional visits. It’s fun watching them with the kids as well. Even Clara (not yet two) is now trained to keep an eye out for these birds and others, reporting either “No birds yet.” or “I see two birds.”

Bushtits are small gray birds with proportionately long tails. Females have lighter, whitish coloured eyes while the males have dark eyes. They usually travel in flocks, moving quickly through an area and feeding as they go. As we move into spring look for the distinctive nest of the bushtit, a hanging sock-like nest made of spiderwebs and plant material with a small opening at the top.

Bushtits – guaranteed to make you smile.