Hello Everyone,



I have a short story to be filed away in the "now that's not something you
see every day" category.



We live in good band-tailed pigeon habitat but rarely see them in our yard,
and then only one or two. Imagine our surprise when we looked out and saw
eleven feeding on the ground beneath the feeders!



As we were admiring these handsome birds we noticed a nearby Douglas
squirrel who seemed to be overly agitated. The squirrel moved closer to the
feeding flock and then made a lunge at the nearest pigeon. It latched with
teeth and claws onto the bird's tailfeathers and held on. The startled bird
took flight with the squirrel attached! It was able to obtain about a foot
in altitude and fly about ten horizontal feet before the squirrel fell off,
clutching two tailfeathers.



Now I know these squirrels aren't known for their sense of humor and I have
seen them chase smaller birds away from their feeding territory but I've
never seen this kind of aggression.



Dave Parent, Freeland, WA