Subject: feeder activity & crow harassment
Date: Jan 12 08:01:16 1998
From: "Rob Conway" - robin_conway at hotmail.com


Tweets -

Brrrrrrds. Like everyone else my feeders and water were popular
attractions over the cold weekend. Most significantly I had a 5
woodpecker day yesterday - Downy, Hairy, Flicker, Red-Breasted Sapsucker
and Pileated. This was the first Red-Breasted Sapsucker visit ever.
The Pileated loved my new large suet feeder that I put out specifically
for him (15" tall wire for him to cling to). Another first time visitor
was a hermit thrush - in with a bunch of robins who were after water.

We had only brief flurries of snow yesterday, so I did my neighborhood
loop. Hundreds of robins, some varied thrushes, starlings, and waxwings
are feeding on cotoneaster berries throughout the neighborhood - some
showing "drunk" behavior.

While walking I heard some very excited crows - typical harassment
behavior. I guessed they had found either the neighborhood great horned
owl or some hawk. I got close and found that these crows were reacting
to a Pileated Woodpecker (with his usual entourage of 2 Red-Shafted
Flickers). The crows were not "dive-bombing" or even coming very close
to the woodpecker but were definitely following him from tree to tree
and vocalizing loudly. Has anyone else seen this crow behavior?

Stay warm and good birding

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rob Conway
Cougar Mountain, Bellevue, WA
47.551N 122.142W

robin_conway at hotmail.com

<Q) // Icarus was a waxwing;
((``// Too bad his dad wasn't a flycatcher.
||
^^
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