And the bird of the day is...

I was horrified the other day to see the brown eyed bushtits descend on the butterfly bush.

The bush is growing in a large pot, and was planted in hopes of providing a good supplemental nectar source for bees and butterflies in the late summer, when many other nectar plants are starting to dry up.

So when I saw this bushtit feasting on the flower spike my first thought was that it was going to eat all of the flowers.

Then I remembered the nasty buddleia budworms that damage the buds, preventing them from developing. The bird must be foraging for these worms, as well as ants and other tiny plant-feeding insects.

And the flowers remain intact for the butterflies and bees!

Everyone wins.