I guess I should not have been too surprised to see a red-bellied woodpecker beating the tar out of a bluejay the other day (over peanuts)

Cathryn Reid
Rose Haven, So AA Co
(North Beach)

--- On Sat, 5/24/08, Leo Weigant <> wrote:

> From: Leo Weigant <>
> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Woodpecker predation?  poor vermillions
> To: 
> Date: Saturday, May 24, 2008, 10:19 PM
> John you reminded me of an incident on the east side of the
> San Pedro  
> River
> outside of Sierra Vista, AZ probably 10 years ago.   I
> noticed a  
> vermillion flycatcher
> being very agitated around a then red-shafted flicker.   As
> i watched  
> I realized that the
> flicker was methodically emptying (and gulping down) the
> flycatcher's  
> nest of its
> nestlings with my mouth agape in surprise.
> 
> As Thoreau remarked once, "Nature is not
> sentimental."
> 
> Leo Weigant
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On May 24, 2008, at 7:23 AM, John Dennehy wrote:
> 
> > While at Villanova Park on Milford Mill in Baltimore
> Co. yesterday,  
> > I witnessed
> > what appeared to be a Red-bellied Woodpecker preying
> upon a Downy
> > Woodpecker chick.  Although the drama occurred high in
> the forest  
> > canopy, I
> > had unobstructed views of the action.
> >
> > The female Downy was frantic, calling and twittering,
> flying from  
> > branch to
> > branch and harrassing the Red-bellied Woodpecker that
> continuously  
> > poked its
> > head into a nest hole.
> >
> > After a couple of noisy minutes, the Red-bellied
> Woodpecker plucked  
> > what I
> > assume was a Downy chick out of the nest cavity and
> flew off.  The  
> > female
> > Downy Woodpecker was left silent as she hopped around
> the nest hole  
> > for a
> > few seconds before she, too, flew off.
> >
> > They're so cute, aren't they?
> >
> > Other birds:
> >
> > Gray-cheeked Thrush - 1
> > Chestnut-sided Warbler - 2
> > Magnolia Warbler - 1
> > Black-throated Blue Warbler (female) - 1
> > Bay-breasted Warbler - 1
> > Wilson's Warbler - 1
> > Canada Warbler - 2
> >
> > John Dennehy
> > Baltimore, MD
> >