Today, while walking on the dyke trail at Wylie Slough on Fir Island, I saw a courtship display not quite like any that I could have ever imagined. A recent tweet post also talked of dramatic woodpecker breeding displays, of Flickers if I recollect. Above the trail this morning we saw male and female Downy Woodpeckers displaying on top of two small tree trunks: 1) Birds would fan out tails, clearly showing the black bars on white feathers 2) The birds would elongate themselves, with the male climbing higher than the female till they both reached the top of their respective trunks 3) In the elongated position,birds would tilt their heads and necks in opposite directions i.e. one to east, other to west, then they would swap directions. Tails would be fanned, chattering noises made. 4)Finally, incredibly, with the female sitting on top of her tree trunk and the male about two feet below, the latter, with tail spread, fanned his wings and elevated slowly and almost vertically in the air until he was about 8" above the female. Just like a hummingbird. I still cannot quite believe what we saw. Bird behaviour is SO amazing. DH

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David Hutchinson, Owner
Flora & Fauna: Nature Books
Discovery Gardens: Native Plants
3212 W.Government Way
Seattle,WA.98199
http://www.ffbooks.net/
206-623-4727



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