Sapsucker fight, other yard birds

[Lisa Millbank]

I noticed something flopping around on the ground in the backyard today,
and my first thought was that maybe an accipiter had caught another
bird. I was surprised to see that it was actually a fight between two
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS, right under a plum tree that bears the scars of
many years of sapsucker activity. I grabbed an umbrella and my camera
and tried to get a closer look. The sapsuckers wrestled on the ground,
giving a rolling "churr" call, while one pecked at the other. The fight
broke off, and both birds were soaking wet and bedraggled, but otherwise
unharmed. One perched on the trunk of the plum tree.

Just moments later, the other sapsucker returned and approached the one
clinging to the plum tree . It grabbed the feathers on the back of the
other bird's head, and tugged vigorously until it managed to pull the
bird off of the tree trunk and back down to the ground. They fought for
about a minute, and neither seemed hurt when they parted and flew away.
You'd think that any woodpecker would be capable of inflicting injury on
one another if they really wanted to, so I don't think that the birds
were pecking each other as hard as they could. I guessed it was a
territorial squabble--with their specialized feeding method, it would
make sense for them to defend individual sap-producing trees like this
one. I didn't get a good picture of them fighting, but in the
attachment, you can see the forked tail of the bird lying on its back.

We've got at least 4 ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS who continually battle over the
two hummingbird feeders (see Carol's video posted earlier today, showing
a particularly aggressive little guy confronting his reflection). There
was a momentary truce the other morning, when the hummingbirds were
getting their first nectar of the day and all perched together on one
feeder. But, as soon as one of them had filled its crop, the peace was
all over.

Last weekend, a juvenile COOPER'S HAWK made a pass at one of our WESTERN
SCRUB-JAYS, but missed. It tried to conceal itself in the neighbor's
apple tree, maybe waiting for another opportunity.

I keep thinking that we ought to cut back some weeds, but the birds are
pretty happy about our untidy backyard. AMERICAN and LESSER GOLDFINCHES
have eaten most of the seeds of an evening-primrose, and now the
goldfinches and DARK-EYED JUNCOS are eating lemon balm seed.

Lisa Millbank
www.neighborhood-naturalist.com