I'm surprised a Red-bellied Woodpecker would bother to work at a Chickadee's small hole, unless it was trying to find food in the cavity, or planning to enlarge the hole for its own nesting. It seems as though that kind of behavior is related to the proliferation of the species, to the detriment of other species. Linda Whyte
On Thu, May 15, 2014 at 8:48 AM, Steve Weston <[email protected]> wrote: > Wendsday > > New birds: E. Kingbird on the shore of Quigley Lake. > Swainson's Thrush (FOY) Ham Lake, Anoka Co. They have been avoiding me. > Cliff Swallows flock (100+) starting to build nests at Lifetouch corp > headquarters on Viking Drive just east of Prairie Center Drive on the shore > of Smetana Lake in Eden Prairie. I was told that they made such a mess > last year that they cleaned out the nests. I told the receptionist that > the nests were protected once the birds were occupied. > Other finds: Sand Hill Crane feeding in a bare field along Viking Drive > where it swings around Swan Lake in Oak Grove (Anoka Co). This bird was so > brown that it almost blended in. > > One of my neighbors was upset about a Red-bellied Woodpecker cleaning out > the nest of a Chickadee: > " He just flew in , stuck his head in the hole and started to pull stuff > from the house. The chickadee was fluttering his wings and screaming at the > redbelly. I knocked on the window and tried to discourage it but it just > kept ripping the bedding out of the house. I could take it no longer so I > opened the window and hollered at the the red belly and then he finally > flew off leaving the chickadee bewildered and very angry. The female was > screaming also at first but then she flew off. He stuck around. I went out > and picked up the stuffing and put it on the railing thinking he would put > the stuff back in the house but after a bit he too took off. A very sad > story. I mean a wren had already ripped his first attempt at a home apart. > > Steve Weston > On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN > [email protected] > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
