[TN-Bird] Courting? Sapsuckers
- From: Carole Gobert <cpgobert@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Tennessee Bird List <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2012 17:26:09 -0400
At Melton Hill Park in west Knox County this morning I watched two
yellow-bellied sapsuckers engage in what I took to be courting behavior. I've
never seen anything like it before. They would stop chasing each other around
long enough to land side by side a few feet apart on the trunk of a tree, then
rapidly circle it a couple of times by sidestepping around the trunk. Then
they would fly off a short distance before returning to the same tree trunk to
repeat the process. I watched them for about 5 minutes during which they did
this several times. I'm pretty sure it was a male and a female but it was hard
to be certain as they were in perpetual motion.
The meadows were mowed in late January; they're growing back now and the
meadowlarks have noticed. I've seen a couple there the last 2 weeks after they
were absent for a few months. There were flocks of Bonaparte's Gulls at the
park all winter but they left last week.
Carole GobertKnoxville
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