Tension has been high between several species at the nest cavity tree. When we arrived yesterday morning this male Northern Flicker was inside the cavity and he spent considerable time enlarging the interior but a pair of Mountain Bluebirds took strong exception to his presence.
This mated pair of Mountain Bluebirds has been involved in tenant wars with a variety of other species for occupancy rights to one of several nest cavities in this aspen tree in Clark County, Idaho
I’ve seldom seen parental duties so enthusiastically and evenly shared as in this mated pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers.
A whole host of cavity nesting bird species rely on dead and dying trees for their nest holes but when those “snags” are prematurely removed by man the resource disappears and birds suffer.
In early July I photographed a mated pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers in Clark County, Idaho. As usual I was fascinated by their behaviors.
We were very lucky to find the nesting pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers in Clark County, Idaho early this summer. For starters, they’re “uncommon” and not often seen. Birders and researchers typically locate most birds by their calls but this sapsucker species is “generally quiet” and doesn’t spontaneously advertise their territories that time of year so passive listening tends to be ineffective in locating them. For this and other reasons Williamson’s Sapsuckers are poorly sampled and studied and there is little data on their numbers.
At this point in my photography “career” it’s unusual for me to get a new lifer but lately I’ve been on a roll.
