[Birdtalk] Fw: Banished Nortern flickers

[Brian Maxfield]

I have also recently watched a battle over a cavity.  American Kestrels, Mountain Bluebirds, European Starlings, and Northern Flickers were fighting over a cavity in my yard.  The Flickers were successful in this instance.  All other birds have also located a nest cavity.

I have noticed that most of the Eurasian Collared Doves in my part of the Uinta Basin are nesting in conifer trees around towns and ranches.  They also made it through a cold winter (>30 below zero) fine.

Brian
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: birderb at aol.com 
  To: calrobbins at msn.com ; birdtalk at utahbirds.org 
  Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 9:41 AM
  Subject: Re: [Birdtalk] Fw: Banished Nortern flickers


  Cal:

  Unfortunately, non native birds like the European Starling have displaced many of the native cavity nesting birds, as you have witnessed.  Hopefully, the Flickers will find time and determination to renest after building a new cavity.  The impact the current range of expansion of the Eurasian Collared Dove has yet to be determined on our native dove.


  Bill Fenimore
  Utah Audubon Policy Advocate
  1860 North 1000 West
  Layton, UT 84041-1858
  801-525-8400 Store
  801-525-8415 Fax
  801-699-9330 Cellular




















   
  -----Original Message-----
  From: calrobbins at msn.com
  To: birdtalk at utahbirds.org
  Sent: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 1:25 PM
  Subject: [Birdtalk] Fw: Banished Nortern flickers



  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: CALVIN ROBBINS 
  To: birdtalk at utahbires.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 1:08 PM
  Subject: Banished Nortern flickers


  I have been watching a northern flicker nest hole in a tree that is in the Jackson Camp Ground in Ogden Valley.  I first found it about two week ago when one of the birds was excavating the hole.  That day I watched the construction for about three hours and when I left the hole was big enough to contain the flicker. I visited the sight three or four times since then and every thing seemed to be going on all right.  On the 15 of April I was up there again and I watched the nesting hole for about 30 minutes.  Both birds were there and every thing looked normal.  I left for about an hour to check on a second flicker nesting sight and when I got back to the first hole thing had greatly Changed. Both flickers were at the hole and one of them was fighting with an other bird which was in the nest cavity.  The flickers lost the fight and after franticly hopping around the hole they flew off.  While they were still there I saw an E starling pop its head out and dump a white substance from the nest.  I assumed that this was the broken egg shell of one of the flickers eggs.  The flickers did not seem to have put up a determined fight for the nest.  However on retrospect I believe the only way the starling could have taken over the nest sight was by waiting until both flicker left the hole and then entered it, with the starling in the hole the flickers could not evict it.  I have not been back to the sight to see if the starling is still the nest holder but I intend to.  I have on several occasions seen starting using what I thought were old pecker hole but this was the first time I had witnessed an eviction.  I am wondering if this is a common happening or if I saw something unique.  Cal Robbins
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