WOODPECKERS v STARLINGS: 3RD ROUND PLAY-OFF

Last week we left the wretched starlings triumphant at having driven off the poor woodpeckers, with Senior Starling taking up residence in the Woodpecker’s home. Two days ago, there was a counter-attack. First a pair of magpies were sent in as muscle and spent a fun day chasing all the starlings out of the garden. Early the following morning, the woodpeckers watchfully returned to the starling-free zone  and surveyed the scene from the top of a 3o feet tree

CHECK TO THE RIGHT… 

CHECK TO THE LEFT…

CHECK BELOW…    

(LATER) HAVE THE STARLINGS REALLY MOVED OUT…?

LOOKING GOOD …

…SO, SAFELY HOME AGAIN

Sensibly, the woodpeckers continued with their protection team of larger, noisier birds, calling in the Jay Squad and Wood Pigeon Security to patrol the area 

No starlings showed at all, and by afternoon the woodpeckers were confident enough to leave the hole for short periods. But they never went very far away from the poplar tree 

And that remains the position today. I am conscious (a) that I have slipped into children’s picturebook mode and (b) that for those who read this blog for its caribbean exoticism, maundering on about a damp english urban garden is quite dull. So having discovered how to do the polling thing, I am giving you the chance to choose whether you want more of this sort of stuff or not. We are nothing if not proactive and interactive around here now… (**Incidentally, the title of this post has no connection with the rather awful and lumbering 14th album by Deep Purple in 1993. An aural confection rightly paid little heed then or now. Purple by numbers)