Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) are small, gray, non-migratory songbirds that are native to the West Coast. We are fortunate to have these charming little birds inhabiting the SU campus, where Dr. Rebecca Hartley and her research students have been observing bushtit nesting and foraging behavior since Spring 2017. Research group members search methodically to locate sock-like nests (see photo) each spring and they make visual observations on a regular schedule to estimate when the chicks hatch and fledge. Male and female bushtits can be distinguished by their iris color -- black in males and white in females (see photo). At some nests, students have documented supernumeraries, adult males who help the parents feed their offspring. This unusual bird behavior was discovered in bushtits living in Arizona but had not yet been reported for Washington state.

During the fall and winter, the research team has studied flocks of bushtits foraging on the SU campus. A patch of blooming Mahonia bealei -- similar to the native Oregon grape -- near Hunthausen Hall is a great place to find bushtits as the sky brightens on winter mornings. Because the bushtits regularly visit these clusters of yellow flowers around sunrise for several weeks, the Mahonia patch has been dubbed the “Bushtit IHOP.”