All About The Bushtit
Garden tip from Judy Wigand
Judy Wigand is a garden expert who once operated Judy’s Perennials in San Marcos, lectured on gardens, and wrote for a number of local and national publications. Now a home gardener, she and photographer/husband, Bob, make a great team, scouting and photographing gardens for publications.
All About The Bushtit
Bushtit‘s are non-migratory songbirds, native to western North America, making them year-round residents in San Diego County. Their tiny, yet plump gray-brown bodies and slender tails make them easy to identify.
They are very sociable birds, traveling in family flocks of 20 or more, moving quickly and continuously as they tweet and twitter one another. They can often be seen hanging upside down on a limb as they use their short stubby bill to forage the undersides of leaves for small insects and spiders.
During late fall and winter they can be attracted to backyard feeders, generously filled with suet. Gardens that host a variety of native shrubs and small trees will undoubtedly have many of these songbirds as visitors.
Photo by Bob Wigand
