Has anyone ever told you that you eat like a bird? This somewhat weird expression is based on the mistaken notion that birds don’t eat very much—many birds have high metabolisms and actually eat at lot, relative to their size.
Some birds also consume things that are hazardous to humans. This week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I have spotted multiple Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) feasting on the abundant poison ivy berries. Poison ivy berries serve as an important food source for a variety of overwintering birds, including these warbler. One of the consequences of the consumption of all of these berries is that the seeds pass through the birds and are spread everywhere, guaranteeing future supplies of the poison ivy berries.
No matter how nutritious or tasty they are for the birds, there is no way that I am voluntarily going near poison ivy or tasting the berries. The berries may not kill me, but I am pretty sure they would make me really sick.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great shots, Mike. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Tricia. It is especially nice when I can capture my little subjects doing something rather than just sitting still and perching. Of course, it makes it a bit more challenging to capture the action, but I welcome that that kind of a challenge.
I’m sure you do, Mike, and you manage it so well.
🙂
That last shot is just great !!!
Thanks, Ted. That last photo caught the moment pretty well, but the lighting was a issue when I took the shot and also when trying to post-process the image.
From your title I expected a Turkey Vulture. 🙂 Nice shots, especially the last, Mike!
Thanks, Steve. Indeed that title could apply equally well to Turkey Vultures, though anecdotally I have heard of people that are willing to eat “road kill.” 🙂
Oh yeah, there are some. 🙂
Lots and lots of years ago, 50 or so, I was involved with a rock and roll band. We all lived in an old restaurant, yes, in Cummington, MA with a completely stocked bar and kitchen. A drummer was coming to jam with us and hit two pheasants. They were tasty. 😀 But I don’t make a habit of such things. 🙂
It’s always a little disconcerting to see birds eat the poison plant berries, I’ve watched it here in CA with poison oak. Interesting too how their leaves are so pretty in their autumnal colors right now. But yikes, I suffer so from it. Great to see these safe and toxic-free photos, Mike. Great to see the warblers, too, not easy to photograph.
Thanks, Jet. This is one of the few warblers that hangs around for a while in my area–most of the others just pass through in the spring and again in the fall. As for the poison ivy, I was shocked a few years ago when I first learned that the little white berries were poison ivy. I did not even know that poison ivy had berries.
Nice series of images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
Beautiful and elegant bird. Nice capture.
I have the hardest time recognizing and avoiding poison ivy. A few weeks ago, I found some pretty little flowers and got down on the ground to photograph them. Two days later, I realized I’d been photographing poison oak — with my macro lens! I’m over the blisters and rash now — at least I know what the flowers look like. It was blooming because the land had been cleared, and a second growth was emerging. Whoops!
I love that this is a high-fat protein for birds, but I dislike that they spread the plant far and wide. No one likes a case of poison ivy!
Gorgeous warblers. Too bad they spread that lousy plant.
Nature has a weird way of combining the good and the bad–like the thorns of a rose.