After last Sunday’s mushroom festival, I decided to walk along the river back to my car. There was a nice rain shower to conclude the festival and most people had taken off. It was quiet as I walked down the path and I could hear birds calling to one another ahead of me. As I rounded the corner, I saw a flock of yellow-rumped warblers flitting around a patch of poison oak eating the berries. They were so beautiful in the late afternoon light, and I watched them for quite a while. The light must have been just right because I was profoundly struck by their elegant shape, colors, and feather patterns. Honestly, it felt as if I just saw the bird for the first time. They eventually moved down into the willows by the river and I decided to return the next day to see if I could get some photos of them.
When I returned the next morning, I didn’t find any yellow-rumped warblers at the poison oak patch, but many other birds were feasting on them, to my surprise. I quietly stood on the trail for about 45 minutes and watched as they came and went. Here’s is the list of birds I saw eating them: Spotted Towhee, Golden-crowned sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush, Dark-eyed Junco, Bushtit, Song Sparrow, and the Yellow-rumped Warbler from the day before. Some American Robins popped out of the thicket from on the ground and I imagine they were eating them too although I didn’t directly see them.
There is so much poison oak at the arboretum and I am not always enthusiastic about its abundance. So I am happy to see that it is an important food source for birds in the fall. I also realize that poison oak is easily spread by all of these birds eating the berries and distributing the seeds in their guano. Happy birding!
