Fraulein ash
Woodpecker stalker
I've been watching my 1st family of red-bellied woodpeckers raise their family this year and it's been delightful! A few weeks ago, I watched Daddy RBWO teaching Jr. how to get food from our feeders. Jr would make a few sloppy attempts at landing and failed, then returned to the "pecker tree" that all the peckers use before/after they used the feeders. Daddy would then go grab a beak full of food and fly over to stuff it down Junior's hungry mouth.
Then the situation changed drastically. Jr started coming alone. He would come to our yard and vocalize like a maniac, flying from tree to tree in a sort of panic, chirping and beeping. I really wanted to believe he was just excited abt his new freedom, but the whole scene has a very depressing feel to it. He seems distressed, like he just... doesn't know what to do with himself.
Sometimes Mom or Dad show up to grab a bite to eat, and this is when things get crazy! Jr seems sooo excited to see them and will fly over to them, vocalizing. Both parents will raise their crown feathers in a mohawk fashion and snap their beaks at him or try to fly away in a hurry. Jr chases them, yelping.
This has been going on for 2 weeks now. Jr is always somewhere on my property or in the immediate area, making the saddest sounding cry you ever heard. He seems confused. My questions are:
~Has he been kicked out of his nest *already*? Is that what's going on here?
~Is he able to at least return to his nest to sleep at night? If not, where is he sleeping??
~Should I put a nest box out for him to have somewhere to go? I was going to wait until spring to put it up, but I'm worried abt his safety. Do I live too close to the original nest? I know when they are kicked out of the nest they are supposed to find their own territory. Edit: the original nest is 2 doors down from me, approximately 400 feet.
Other bird families are still feeding their babies, even though they are perfectly capable of feeding themselves. We have a family of cardinals across the street that stick around our feeders all day... there is a baby girl who will feed herself with no issues until her father shows up. Then she flies into a nearby bush and shakes like she is having a seizure while chirping up a storm! Dad flies over and feeds her... he is SUCH an enabler!
Then the situation changed drastically. Jr started coming alone. He would come to our yard and vocalize like a maniac, flying from tree to tree in a sort of panic, chirping and beeping. I really wanted to believe he was just excited abt his new freedom, but the whole scene has a very depressing feel to it. He seems distressed, like he just... doesn't know what to do with himself.
Sometimes Mom or Dad show up to grab a bite to eat, and this is when things get crazy! Jr seems sooo excited to see them and will fly over to them, vocalizing. Both parents will raise their crown feathers in a mohawk fashion and snap their beaks at him or try to fly away in a hurry. Jr chases them, yelping.
This has been going on for 2 weeks now. Jr is always somewhere on my property or in the immediate area, making the saddest sounding cry you ever heard. He seems confused. My questions are:
~Has he been kicked out of his nest *already*? Is that what's going on here?
~Is he able to at least return to his nest to sleep at night? If not, where is he sleeping??
~Should I put a nest box out for him to have somewhere to go? I was going to wait until spring to put it up, but I'm worried abt his safety. Do I live too close to the original nest? I know when they are kicked out of the nest they are supposed to find their own territory. Edit: the original nest is 2 doors down from me, approximately 400 feet.
Other bird families are still feeding their babies, even though they are perfectly capable of feeding themselves. We have a family of cardinals across the street that stick around our feeders all day... there is a baby girl who will feed herself with no issues until her father shows up. Then she flies into a nearby bush and shakes like she is having a seizure while chirping up a storm! Dad flies over and feeds her... he is SUCH an enabler!
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