This reminds me of a Hairy Woodpecker nest I was observing in order to conduct feeding rate observations. A male Hairy brought an absolutely enormous wood-boring beetle larvae, probably from Ceryambicidae or Buprestidae beetles, to the nest cavity. The young were old enough to come up near the hole to be fed so the adult did not need to enter the cavity. It tried multiple times over about 5 minutes to feed that grub (which hung out the end of the adult's bill) to its nestlings. I think it was just too big for the chicks to eat. Finally, the adult looked around and as if to say, "well if they won't eat it, I will", and swallowed the grub. These beetle larvae are kind of like cheeseburgers, full of fat and protein.



Jeff Kozma



Yakima



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Hubbell
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2018 1:57 PM
To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Tweeters] Union Bay Watch } The Feast



Tweeters,



If there was a contest to determine the largest food item a Downy Woodpecker might eat, this week's post would provide a potential winner.



I hope you enjoy the brief escape into the life of a Downy.



http://unionbaywatch.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-feast.html



Have a great day on Union Bay, where nature lives in the city!



Larry Hubbell

ldhubbell at comcast.net <mailto:ldhubbell at comcast.net>

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