We have a new arrival at our backyard feeders: the red-bellied woodpecker. And he is quite smitten with the peanut feeder. For the last few days he has successfully fought off every starling that has tried to overtake the coveted feeder. He is a one-man army fighting for his cause. Finally, the starlings put their bird brains together and figured if they double-teamed him, they might be able to take the feeder back. It all came to a head recently and it was really fun to watch. What can I say? I'm easily amused. You can see how Woody is having a nice leisurely lunch at first, then the peaceful meal escalates into a frenzy as the starlings assert their dominance.
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| Mmmm...nice morsel... |
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| It's so peaceful without those foul and uncouth starlings. Maybe they won't show today. |
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| Spoke too soon! Dagnabit! |
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Starling: I am the angel of death and this is your warning.
Woody: Back off you brute! |
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Woody: I will cut you, fool!
Starling: Muah hahaha. We'll see about that. I have friends in high places. |
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| Oh, crap. |
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| Uh oh, I'm surrounded. |
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| I'm outta here! |
Woody either realized he was outnumbered or got tired of defending his territory. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of that $12.99 bag of peanuts. Well worth the price of admission!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! See you on Monday. :)
47 comments:
Nobody messes with the cranky redbellies... You caught it perfectly...
Fantastic! The last shot is priceless! We had Red-bellied Woodpeckers over the winter and they didn't let anything drive them off. I always like it when the bully birds get a taste of their own medicine! :-)
Oh $12.99 is very cheap for thrills like this. Awesome. Hug B
Great job and great entertainment. Better than TV or internet any day.
That was so awesome - great shots and dialogue! Thank you for the morning chuckle!!
Ha, ha! Love the "spoke too soon" and "angel of death" photos. Wonderful action shots and great dialogue, as always. Children's book in the making. :)
love your narration. :) he's got quite the beak - i think he could take 'em. :)
Again, wonderful images and your commentating just adds to the enjoyment!!
This WOULD be tons of fun to watch! I bet Woody can take very good care of himself. :)
You are so funny! thanks for the smiles and great photos and captions!
Those peanuts sure do provide entertainment!
you manage to get some really good shots of birds.
Great photos from the bird-feeder!
Great series of photographs, Gail.
He did a good job keeping them away.
Have a wonderful weekend!
What a chuckle! At least he had a peanut to take with him. Terrific shots Gail.
Great shots, Gail. You always make me laugh.
Wonderful photos and captions! Love the Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
great interaction. don't believe i've ever seen better photos. make a book gal. get on with it. ;-]
Amazing shots of the action. I do hope Woody comes back.
Just beautiful macros...stunning! Love your story telling.
Cute series on the woodie. I would much rather see the woodpecker eating your peanuts than the starlings. Have a happy weekend!
Oh,Gail! This is outstanding - you should win an award for this!!
Great set of pictures - a time machine would be nice to suggest that moving birds all over the globe is a bad idea! (But I would do a few other things as well!)
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
I so agree -- at $20 a bag for black sunflower seeds -- I get a whole month's worth of entertainment right outside my window. xo
I have tried to buy that bird seed that apparently does not appeal to Starlings (or at least that's how it's advertised) but it doesn't stop them!!
funny and cute. Poor little fella....he had a good thing going on and now it's all been ruined. I'm guessing that he will be back!! The taste of those peanuts are just too yummy to keep him away. Have your camera ready...we might just see a peanut war.
Hope you have a super great Mother's day weekend...
shug
You got some incredible action shots here, Gail. Fantastic.
Simply amazing captures of a great encounter.
With a bag of your own popcorn you've got quite the show!
Wow - your shots keep on getting better and better. Awesome work!
Well my friend you have done it once again.. You have me smiling from ear to ear.. LOVE these photos.. And the narration is pretty darn funny as well.
Hugs~
Gorgeous photos and fun, fun narrative :) Love the woodpecker!
Beautiful images, love the story that goes with them.
I enjoyed looking through your previous posts, please count me in as your next reader.
I'm not sure which I enjoyed more, the photos or the commentary!!
Wow! This is fantastic, Gail! Tha starling looks kinda big. So Woody opted for take-out & got away with a nice snack anyway.
Wonderfully amazing shots!!! I have a woodpecker also that rules my birdfeeder. But the birdfeeder is only for the smaller song birds, so all the larger birds like it when Woodie comes to visit since he knocks the seeds out of the feeder to the ground. You must have had your camera on rapid fire!! Love it!
haha ... LOVED your post :) My sons enjoyed it too. Great photos, Gail.
Hugs to you!
Total joy in your story! Peanuts well worth the admission!
Some fantastic shots of the birds! Beautiful post!
It certainly was worth the price of admission; thanks for inviting us to see the show. Wow.
I think that that has to be the prettiest woodpecker I've ever seen!! And beautifully captured by you!
The Starlings are the bane of my woodpecker's life too, although they fight over the fat balls!
Keep up the good work Gail!
Beautiful birds, and beautiful shots. I'm going out and buy a bag of peanuts!!!
A great set Gail. :-)
i do believe you need your very own POTW crown and scepter!
Wow-- those colors are absolutely stunning! Great pics.
And congrats on your POTW from Hilary!
xo jj
Beautiful pics Mama!
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