January 2015 included foggy but dry days with the last few weeks having temperatures in the upper sixties and springlike conditions. Wildlife at Sutters Landing Park responded accordingly.
This male American Kestrel was about to be rudely shown who rules the roost between these two!
She flew in and replaced him on his high perch.
Ahh, now that's more like it.
These two male Nuttall's Woodpeckers appeared to be intensely working out who's territory this is. Yours or mine?
They postured and loudly sounded-off about the issue,
and moved the debate to another location,
Suddenly things escalated,
Into this! ……….. Hopefully things have now finally been resolved.
Meanwhile, further down river a group of Northern Flickers spent much of their day feeding in the new grass along the levee bank. The flashy red color on the underside of it's tail and wings, distinguishes the western "red-shafted," from the eastern "yellow-shafted" flicker.
They spend as much time feeding on the ground as any woodpecker I've seen. They almost disappear from sight in the grass. See a third head poking in from the right?
They have a large, distinct white patch on the rump.
You can follow this link to hear the calls of a Northern flicker.
Would you like to see us in action? We'll be around at Sutter's Landing Park and the rest of the Parkway for a while longer before we migrate to higher areas to nest. Hopefully there will be more rain and a snowpack to provide cool water and healthy habitats with lots to eat for all.
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