Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe). An amiable little bird that I love to see around as it flicks its tail feathers as a signal to me. A sign of identification. Being that it is an insectavore makes me welcome it well beyond my being enthralled by its charm. An event of just a couple days ago makes me appreciate that they eat ticks! This year those ticks are out there still, even at the end of December. It’s been much too warm to send the ticks, depending on their species, into hiding in leaf litter or going into underground burrows. Waiting for warm weather to return. They don’t need to escape. The warm weather hasn’t gone away. In a normal winter the Phoebe will eat what insects it can find but can and will resort to eating berries and other fruit that it can find. I love that they are here returning to the same nest year after year to raise their young. And are eating the ticks.
