Hi all,
About two months ago Jill Dark wrote:
"... This morning I spent some time watching a white-throated treecreeper
feeding in a Banksia spinulosa. The bird appeared to be taking nectar
rather than insects. It approached each flower by hopping along the
underside of the branch then perched on the side of the flower and inserted
its beak. This was repeated several times, each flower chosen was a fresh
one which was likely to contain nectar..."
On Wednesday morning my community college group and I were out at Point
Pilcher in the Blue Mountains, where we watched a White-throated
Treecreeper doing exactly the same thing in a Banksia ericifolia. We
examined the inflorescence afterwards and it was rich in nectar. We
couldn't find any insects in the flowers and from the way the bird was
inserting its bill we felt sure it was taking nectar. Like Jill, I have
never seen treecreepers do this before. This has been a particularly good
year for banksias here in the mountains so I guess the treecreepers have
cottoned on to a good thing.
A few weeks ago we watched a White-browed Scrubwren and Striated Thornbills
also feeding in B. ericifolia flowers. (I know it's not uncommon for Brown
Thornbills to take nectar.)
Cheers,
Carol
Carol Probets
Katoomba NSW
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