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Showing posts with label mammals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mammals. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Picking up the kids and moving house! Bird bullied by aggressive starlings leaves nest with egg in its beak

pictures of birds
Beautiful: The Northern Flicker Bird was spotted flying the nest in Yellowstone Park in the U.S.
It can always be a hassle moving home - especially when you have kids to think about, even in egg form.

These Northern Flicker birds had to vacate the nest they had painstakingly chiselled into a roadside signpost.

The couple had been bullied from their Yellowstone Park home by a European Starling couple and were captured transferring a tiny white egg to a new nest.

Photographer Chuck Courson explains: 'At an intersection there is a big wooden sign and one day when slowing to navigate this turn I noticed a Northern Flicker sitting atop the signpost.

'I pulled over to have a closer look and discovered this enterprising bird and its mate had actually carved a perfect nest inside the post.

'Even though there were bison and elk in the adjoining field, I set up my tripod and gleefully captured the Northern Flickers flying in and out of the nest. I would have stayed much longer but someone pulled over and asked me what I was shooting.

'When I told him he suggested that my time would be better spent photographing the wolf on a bison kill over at the Yellowstone River. I packed my gear and rushed off.

'I returned to the nest and observed the hole in the post for a few minutes and nothing happened. There was no sign of life. I decided to set up my gear in the sagebrush, crouching low so as not to alarm the birds.

'The very moment I was set up and hit the focus button on my camera, a bird appeared in the hole. Much to my surprise and amazement, it was holding what appeared to be a ball in its mouth.

'In this instance you shoot and ask questions later. After the bird had flown away, I examined the series of photos more closely and discovered the Flicker was actually moving one of its eggs to a new nest.

'Apparently the Flicker couple had lost the battle with a European Starling couple and were being evicted from their well-build nest.'


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