![\"mountain](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/mountain-bluebird-5799b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThis mated pair of Mountain Bluebirds has been\u00a0involved in\u00a0tenant wars with a variety of other species for occupancy rights to several nest cavities in this aspen tree in Clark County, Idaho (image taken yesterday morning). Williamson’s Sapsuckers, Red-naped Sapsuckers, Northern Flickers, Tree Swallows and Red-breasted Nuthatches\u00a0have all shown varying amounts of interest in the cavities and the competition has been fascinating to watch and very challenging to photograph.<\/p>\n
Each species takes over a cavity for a while, leaves, and then others claim it. And there are fights in the interim.<\/p>\n
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1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in <\/strong><\/p>\n When this image was taken it was the Mountain Bluebird’s turn. Here the male has landed at\u00a0a cavity entrance so there’s very little room for his mate who is coming in right after him. Despite the fact that we can’t see her face I really like the contrasting views of both birds at the nest cavity and I enjoy the good look at the feather patterns on the dorsal\u00a0surface of the female.<\/p>\n I was pleasantly surprised that both birds are sharp (at least they look reasonably sharp to me on my laptop in the field) which indicates to me that the female was almost in the same plane as the male.<\/p>\n This is the same aspen tree where I photographed Williamson’s Sapsuckers and\u00a0House Wrens at nest\u00a0cavities\u00a0last July and then I called it a “glory hole tree”. If this keeps up I may have to add a few more superlatives to that name.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This mated pair of Mountain Bluebirds has been involved in tenant wars with a variety of other species for occupancy rights to one of several nest cavities in this aspen tree in Clark County, Idaho <\/p>\n