His ruby red eye glittering in the sun, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is forced to put up the annoyance of a sparrow sharing his suet. The masses of newly fledged birds is overwhelming the food supply lately. The suet is supposed to be for the woodpeckers, but nowadays its every bird for himself.
This male Red-bellied Woodpecker has already fought off a series of sparrows when he hears another whir of approaching wings.
I know I shouldn't assign human emotions to non-human species, but the male woodpecker appears to look indignant at the audacity of the intruder.
Sharing a meal with a sparrow must be somewhat humiliating for such a noble species. It is pointless to waste energy fighting off hordes of hungry house sparrows, however!
Even the breathtakingly beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker (who does have a red belly, BTW) has to put up with some minor annoyances in this life. Sharing suet with a sparrow is just of many little irritations interrupting his day. The ceaseless clicking of a camera shutter is yet another cross he has to bear!
Great job capturing the color of that RBWP eye! I haven't put suet out for a while.You've inspired me to get back to offering suet.
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