I found two downy woodpeckers that I believe were in the midst of courtship.
Although downy woodpeckers are pretty common here I am not all that familiar with there courtship and mating behaviour.
But for a good half an hour these two birds would continually face each other and bob their heads swaying slightly back and forth.
When one bird would take off and move to a new branch the other would quickly follow and land on the same branch or one near by.
Then they would start the bobbing and weaving again.
I believe that one was male and the other female but it was hard to tell because they would constantly change positions. It was fascinating and I watched them for about 30 to 45 minutes.
I did find a few other birds in the park. There were plenty of black-capped chickadees, at least one red-bellied woodpecker, and a couple of white-breasted nuthatch.
On my way home from the park I spotted a red-tailed hawk perched looking for prey. We still have a lot of red-tails hanging around.
I did find a few other birds in the park. There were plenty of black-capped chickadees, at least one red-bellied woodpecker, and a couple of white-breasted nuthatch.
On my way home from the park I spotted a red-tailed hawk perched looking for prey. We still have a lot of red-tails hanging around.
4 comments:
I love that you were able to capture that downy mating behavior! Getting to observe behavior like that is for me, the best thing about birding.
LOL! I'd like to see one of those posing red-tailed hawks too!
Amazing set of pictures! Thanks for sharing that, it is certainly great to be able to witness moments like those.
Great catch on the downies!
Great pictures of the Downy Woodpeckers! They ARE fun to watch.
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