I was up in my office working one afternoon (the living room has a loft above it and my desk is in the small library at the top of the stairs) when I happened to look out the sliding doors in the living room and see this gorgeous flicker working at the suet. We had come up with the idea of attaching a cage to the deck rail so we could secure a suet block for those birds who don't cling or hang all that well. Hoping for Eastern Bluebirds we got everything but. However, I was excited to see the flicker, one of my favorite birds. Rather than risk scaring the bird away by coming down the stairs, I took some shots from the loft.
After only a few frames I saw another bird fly up. The flicker jump down off the suet cage and confronted the interloper.
Ah ha! A Red-bellied Woodpecker!
Much squawking and flailing of wings ensued. The flicker flashed his bright yellow plumage.
His rival vanquished, the flicker sat and watched for a few moments to see if he'd return.
Satisfied that he had won, he went back to eating his lunch.
Timing really is everything. To have caught this exchange was pure luck, especially considering the windows are behind me. It's always exciting to see the birds doing something other than eating, and to actually record it is even better!
Happy New Year to you and yours! May 2012 be the best year yet!
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