Friday, May 10, 2013

Battle of the Birds

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.
Mmmm...nice morsel...

It's so peaceful without those foul and uncouth starlings. Maybe they won't show today.

Spoke too soon! Dagnabit!

Starling: I am the angel of death and this is your warning.

Woody: Back off you brute!

Woody: I will cut you, fool!

Starling: Muah hahaha. We'll see about that. I have friends in high places.

Oh, crap.

Uh oh, I'm surrounded.

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:

Rambling Woods said...

Nobody messes with the cranky redbellies... You caught it perfectly...

Brian King said...

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! :-)

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh $12.99 is very cheap for thrills like this. Awesome. Hug B

Amy Burzese said...

Great job and great entertainment. Better than TV or internet any day.

Anonymous said...

That was so awesome - great shots and dialogue! Thank you for the morning chuckle!!

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

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. :)

TexWisGirl said...

love your narration. :) he's got quite the beak - i think he could take 'em. :)

Deanna said...

Again, wonderful images and your commentating just adds to the enjoyment!!

EG CameraGirl said...

This WOULD be tons of fun to watch! I bet Woody can take very good care of himself. :)

Charlotte Wilson said...

You are so funny! thanks for the smiles and great photos and captions!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Those peanuts sure do provide entertainment!

Anonymous said...

you manage to get some really good shots of birds.

HansHB said...

Great photos from the bird-feeder!

Lisa Gordon said...

Great series of photographs, Gail.
He did a good job keeping them away.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Karen said...

What a chuckle! At least he had a peanut to take with him. Terrific shots Gail.

hootnonny said...

Great shots, Gail. You always make me laugh.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos and captions! Love the Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

the wild magnolia said...

great interaction. don't believe i've ever seen better photos. make a book gal. get on with it. ;-]

Ruth Hiebert said...

Amazing shots of the action. I do hope Woody comes back.

Pride In Photos Beauty said...

Just beautiful macros...stunning! Love your story telling.

eileeninmd said...

Cute series on the woodie. I would much rather see the woodpecker eating your peanuts than the starlings. Have a happy weekend!

Unknown said...

Oh,Gail! This is outstanding - you should win an award for this!!

Stewart M said...

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

Nancy said...

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

Optimistic Existentialist said...

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!!

Shug said...

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

Hilary said...

You got some incredible action shots here, Gail. Fantastic.

Donna said...

Simply amazing captures of a great encounter.

Anonymous said...

With a bag of your own popcorn you've got quite the show!

Anonymous said...

Wow - your shots keep on getting better and better. Awesome work!

Unknown said...

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~

Willow said...

Gorgeous photos and fun, fun narrative :) Love the woodpecker!

Karen said...

Beautiful images, love the story that goes with them.

Karen said...

I enjoyed looking through your previous posts, please count me in as your next reader.

Starla said...

I'm not sure which I enjoyed more, the photos or the commentary!!

Kerry said...

Wow! This is fantastic, Gail! Tha starling looks kinda big. So Woody opted for take-out & got away with a nice snack anyway.

Suzan said...

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!

Stephanie said...

haha ... LOVED your post :) My sons enjoyed it too. Great photos, Gail.

Hugs to you!

Reena said...

Total joy in your story! Peanuts well worth the admission!

Ramakant Pradhan said...

Some fantastic shots of the birds! Beautiful post!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

It certainly was worth the price of admission; thanks for inviting us to see the show. Wow.

Richard Pegler said...

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!

Hilary said...

Beautiful birds, and beautiful shots. I'm going out and buy a bag of peanuts!!!

holdingmoments said...

A great set Gail. :-)

TexWisGirl said...

i do believe you need your very own POTW crown and scepter!

Joanna Jenkins said...

Wow-- those colors are absolutely stunning! Great pics.

And congrats on your POTW from Hilary!

xo jj

Unknown said...

Beautiful pics Mama!