[EBB Sightings] Another battle report

Hi, all.
  I was up at Sibley again today and watched a
Nuttal's woodpecker for some time. He seemed a bit
aggitated on and off (with feeding along tree trunks
and branches in between) but got really serious around
a pair of hairy (I'm pretty sure, though it could have
been downies) woodpeckers at a nest hole in one of the
standing dead trees in the burned over area. The
hairies were sticking pretty close to the hole and
stuck their heads inside a number of times, which made
me suspect there might be chicks inside. When the
Nuttal's came too close, they'd chse him off a bit,
but didnt' pursue him far. When I came back by later,
none of the three was to be seen or heard. 
  I was a bit surprised by the confrontation; I
haven't seen this kind of thing before. Is it unusual
or fairly common behavior between  different
woodpecker species? Maybe there's something in the air
that's making all these birds hostile. ;-)
  I forgot to check for the pygmy nuthatch nest, but
did glimpse a red-breasted in some pines quite a ways
down the hill. Also seen were a pair of bluebirds
apparently setting up house in a box right near the
trail, a possible yellow warbler (the light was bad),
a song sparrow and, I believe, a pair of band-tailed
pigeons (where I'd seen the woodpeckers earlier).
  At least one of the adult eagles put on a noisy
display, swooping around Round Top a bit before
settling back in the nest.
  'Twas pretty darned cold up there in the wind, but
it definitely had its rewards.
Happy birding.
Alan Howe
Oakland


		
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