big bully

We do have a lot of birds in our yard and in our neighborhood. Some days it actually sounds like a bird aviary with all the chirping and chattering going on. Of course you know about the saga of the poor quail eggs and the trouble they had with the king snake. And I've told you about the early morning quail chatter outside our bedroom window. Then there are the doves, who have tried without success to make a nest and lay some eggs. I have watched several sloppy nests get built and then it seems as though they lose interest and abandon it before they even lay any eggs. We have some pretty song birds and on occasion we see a bright red cardinal dashing about. Don't forget the owl that called our backyard home for the winter.

Once in awhile we see these big black birds. Crows I assume. I always think of the Alfred Hitchcock movie...

I try not to think about them swooping down and pecking my head, but let's be honest here, the thought has crossed my mind a few times. There is just something about them that gives me the creeps. Perhaps because we associate them with Halloween? Or the fact that they are the foragers at picnic sites and are never afraid to crash the party looking for a little morsel of food? Or just the fact that the darn movie scared the stuffing out of me when I was young!

Whatever the reason, I've just never liked seeing them.

But the other day, my mind might have changed. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they are not the birds I need to worry about.

Enter these two...

I heard a bug ruckus/raucous (spell check gives me two choices here, which is it?). There was a big noise and I looked up and saw these two flying around frantically above the yard. The little one was actually dive bombing the big one! They were circling around with the big one going up and down trying to lose the little guy. He was squawking like crazy and the little one was chirping madly trying to peck his back. The little one continued to torment the big guy after he landed on top of this cactus.

I can just imagine the beak lashing this big black bird was giving the little one as it was trying to get a piece of him. So is it these little birds I need to worry about?