[NatureNS] puzzling tiny bird in White Point

From: Marg Millard <mmillard@eastlink.ca>
To: naturens <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Date: Wed, 03 Nov 2010 10:38:21 -0300
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I have a puzzle I could use some help with if someone has suggestions to 
share. I haven't been able to get a photo but will continue with that.

At first I thought I had another hummingbird, a big one. It was hovering at 
the honeysuckle hummingbird station where the ant trap is still hanging. I 
got excited. But no, it is not a hummingbird...the bird is about the same 
shade of olivey gray as a female Junco, it is about 1/3 less or more of the 
size of a chickadee. It flits, top side up and down and sideways, under and 
over things, always moving. It holds its tail up almost perpendicular to its 
backside, slightly to the right and flicks it. The flick seems to affect the 
whole body and movement of the bird. Busy thing.!! It is buffy to gray under 
and I got the impression of a through the eye stripe but it wasn't really 
distinct. It has a thin beak not quite the same as a nuthatch but similar. 
Maybe not so curved.
The white breasted nuthatch and a chickadee arrived at the grapevine and 
were on either side of it for a brief moment.. Size-wise it is most 
definitely less than 1/2 size of that nuthatch. Chickadee chased the little 
bird off the feeder where it seemed more to be interested in exploring than 
actually feeding. Maybe the seed I had out wasn't to its liking. It did seem 
to find something in the leaves of the grapevine to pay attention to.
That tail may have a very faint pattern on it but it didn't stay still long 
enough for me to say.
It is one of the smallest birds I have seen, and I can say with some 
certainty I haven't seen this before.

Ideas anyone?

Best regards,
Marg Millard, White Point ,Queens
http://MargMillard.ca 


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