Ruth - quite possibly a flying ant hatch. Fifteen or so years ago at my Adirondack camp at this time of year I observed this same sort of behavior. Purple Finches and several other non-insectivores near my seed feeders filled the air for about 15 min catching a flying ant hatch in progress. It was very intense for a short while and ended very abruptly. It was so weird to see these birds acting so out of character, but food is food.
Bob YunickJenny Lake in the Adirondacks
On Friday, September 26, 2025 at 06:10:42 PM EDT, R Stewart <2cnewbirds...> wrote:
Interesting bird behavior. About 3:30 3 EABL came into yard - one to
birdbath, 2 on lawn. Then one moved out of yard and began hovering over a
brush pile. Then there were MANY birds doing the same thing. The HOFI which
normally feed at my feeder all moved out front and were all around the
brush pile. Also, many CHSPs. BLJAs were there, Phoebes. It all lasted
about 15 min. There must have been a swarm of insects coming from that
brush pile. I could see nothing after the birds left.
