Over the last few years, I've watched the red-headed woodpeckers, and still can't determine their society. It's complicated, and how to tell the sexes is beyond my knowledge.
This morning, two were on the power pole. As I watched, the one on the very top would tap, and the one further down the pole would tap back. It was as though they were enticing each other like two bar patrons flirting at the bar. The one on top would tap, and the other would inch up closer after an answering tap. It went on for a few minutes...but trouble soon arrived.
Two others arrived, and fought on an adjacent power pole. One chased the other away, but another soon arrived to join the brawl. They all left, but one came back to land on the pole with the two at the "bar". That didn't set well with the one lower on the power pole, and it soon attacked the interloper. Both left, but one soon returned. I think it was the original one, since it started the tapping game.
The one on top, which I'm thinking is the female, soon resumed tapping, but the interchange was soon interrupted by the return of the other two, and an additional one. Now there was a total of three red-headed woodpeckers, and four were soon fighting and chasing each other. The pole was now empty, except the one on the top. Soon, it too flew away, but returned in a few minutes to start tapping.
One flew to land near the top, but that wasn't acceptable. The one on the top chased it away, and returned to sit and tap. The others flew around; fussing and chasing each other. Within a minute, one returned to the lower position on the pole, and answered the taps of the one on top. It left, and the one on top remained.
Eventually, one flew to the top of the pole, and the two there stared at each other for long moments. One flew away, and the other followed in about thirty seconds.
Past experience says mating will soon happen, and the proud parents will bring their young children in a few months. The young will be carbon-copies of the parents, but not have the red head. Eventually they will, and their acceptance at the feeder will be over. The parents will "break their plate" and force them to go out an seek their place in the woods.
Not seen were the red-bellied woodpecker. We have a few, and they defer to the red-headed woodpeckers. They'll avoid the feeder when the red-headed woodpeckers are there. Also, they'll steal the peanuts the red-headed woodpeckers place in the cracks on the power pole. The power struggle will last until early summer. After that, all the woodpeckers will disappear from the feeder and will only be seen flitting between the trees in the distance.
I've read that the red-headed woodpecker's range is threatened by the red-bellied woodpecker. Maybe so, but in my neck of the woods, the red-headed woodpecker calls the shots.
I was in my backyard, when a zillion birds just came and flocked to a tree. Curious, I went on YouTube and found falcon noises. Then a zillion birds left.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, while working on a paving project, I looked up in the hazy Spring sky and noticed birds flying way up in the sky. They looked like hawks, and there was a steady stream flying over. Not thinking much about it, I went back to work and basically forgot about them.
DeleteA few hours later, I looked up and found the same scene again. It was as though the steady stream was continuous, and that made me wonder how many there were, and how bizarre it was.
I haven't seen anything like that since, and have no idea if it was a random migration, or something that happens without my observation.
A friend had a Pileated decide her house was tasty.
ReplyDeleteNoisy! And this "Woody Woodpecker" was quickly destroying her home.
She spent the equivalence of a full-time job trying to convince Woody to go elsewhere, then had to repair the considerable damage he had done.
I worked for man that had to convince a family of pileated woodpeckers they weren't welcome. The birds enjoyed the rough cedar exterior of the home, and would wake the family as they caused considerable damage.
DeleteThat's because the wood probably had termites or ants, woodpeckers don't bang on wood for fun.
DeleteProbably so. That, or the wood was in a dry enough condition to warrant the building of a nest in wood easily removed. I've seen them tap on power poles, and hide peanuts in the cracks they create.
DeleteOh you bet there’s a Backlash coming…. And I can’t wait for the Elections to come this November, There will be a shift in power unless these elections are rigged like the last presidential election. I think if that happens again in this country I believe it will lead to another revolutionary war. I truly believe Americans need to wake up we don’t have a Democrat problem we have a politician problem the republicans are on board with the rules for thee but not for me all of them get to do insider trading including their families but if us common folks did it we would go to prison. Politicians DO NOT have to pay into Social Security, but we are FORCED to pay into a system that our Politicians both Democrat and Republicans have almost bankrupt. Once they retire they collect a pension for the rest of their lives, over 150,000 a year(not taxed i believe). After 20 years of service my small retirement check ia taxed, federal, state, SS, you get the jist. If you actually look at all the taxes that you pay over 50% of your income is going to taxes so the taxes so the American government has become has become what we fought against in the Revolutionary War. The WORKING CLASS is taxed to death while people are allowed to sit at home and collect welfare and disability for being obese, I’m not being mean this is a fact. People want free health care which the United States probably could afford if our welfare system was an abused so much there are so many people that have babies just to collect more money so they don’t have to work. Our government is still paying people to stay home and not work, How can they say they’ve created over 600000 jobs when everyone is everyone is hiring places have had to shut down because people don’t have to work. Why work when Bidumb sends you Free Money? Americans wake up if they’re not working they’re getting money from somewhere to survive so it’s coming from the government. We have women that collect welfare while they say their boyfriends don’t live with them and their boyfriends are out making thousands of dollars the dollars it’s reported to the state and they do nothing about it. We send billions and billions of dollars to foreign countries in aid while we have children in America starving to death, We have the elderly who can’t afford to barely live and they worked in our country their entire lives. We have a war at home in our country the government against the American people. I took a note at 17 years old to die from my country when I joined the United States Army, Part of that oath said I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. Every police officer every politician every service member takes this oath any one of those public servants enforces enforces any of these mandates that this corrupt tyrannical government is trying to force on the American people is Justice guilty for treason and tyranny against American citizens and citizens and every single 1 of them should resign from their positions. I am almost 50 years old and to this day even though I’m retired after 20 years and I’ve been retired for almost 10 years I will still die from my country and the freedom that I defended for 20 years of my life and now both of my sons are in the army defending that same freedom and they would die for their country too in any American who is not willing to stand up against this tyrannical You should be ashamed to yourselves and leave this country and go live in Russia Iran Venezuela because that is what America is going to become if this administration is allowed to continue to destroy our country and take away our freedoms. They did it once and Americans coward and obeyed this Socialist, leaning towards Communist government with the pandemic what’s next, What Americans what next is going to come when we get these people out of our Government!
ReplyDeleteThe wheels of justice are slow....too slow. The real hope I now have is of how people are becoming better informed; regardless of the efforts to keep them in the dark.
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