You're mine, Dude!!!

[Fabs Forns]

One of the fierce battles between the Flicker and the Starlings. The Starling got into the hole and fought from there. The flicker was pecking him on the head non-stop, then they went in for a few minutes. We were expecting to see a dead starling fly off the tree, but no, they both survived. I think this is is really cute, with that Karate lock. For the less observant, you can see the invader's bill on the upper part of the hole. There was really very little light, so even getting this one was tough, especially with such a small area of coverage of the 600/4.

1d4, 600/4,
f/5.6, 1/640, ISO 2000

[Harold Davis]

i didnt even see the beak. glad you pointed that out!! that flicker just wanted some starling leg for dinner!!!:D too bad the gang won the battle. nice work at ISO 2000!!!!!

[Joe Senzatimore]

Great story telling image. Gotta love the flicker's bravery. Good job under bad conditions.

[jfranciskay]

Wow! What a fantastic shot! Instant fave...Talk about a nature story....Great all around, especially under the conditions.

[Ofer Levy]

This is really great! Interesting behaviour captured beautifully. If anything would crop a bit off the top to get rid of some more of the BG. The tip of the Starling's beak is way to small to have any effect in here IMO.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I have never seen this behavior. Pretty neat trick to prevent being pecked. :) Did the flicker repossess the 'condo'? Starlings cause quite a bit of damage here, particularly with tree swallows.

[Fabs Forns]

Flickers had to abandon the nest, unfortunately. They were attacked by more than one at a time. I have some proof of that, just too messy to post, because of low shutter speed.
Good news is they have relocated in another hole in the wetlands.
I have a pic of the starling (5 of them) conspiring, I guess deciding which of them will hit and when. Unbelievable.
Whose idea was it to introduce them here? They are really abusing the endemic species.

Thanks everyone for your comments. It was a very unique experience to witness.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Flickers had to abandon the nest, unfortunately. They were attacked by more than one at a time. I have some proof of that, just too messy to post, because of low shutter speed.
Good news is they have relocated in another hole in the wetlands.
I have a pic of the starling 95 of them) conspiring, I guess deciding which of them will hit and when. Unbelievable.
Whose idea was it to introduce them here? They are really abusing the endemic species.

Probably that hapless Shakespeare fan who introduced all European species that are mentioned in Shakespeare's work.

P.S.: I just googled it. Here is the Wikipedia info on this species:

Although there are approximately 200 million starlings in North America, they are all descendants of approximately 60 birds (or 100 [1]) released in 1890 in Central Park, New York, by Eugene Schieffelin, who was a member of the Acclimation Society of North America reputedly trying to introduce to North America every bird species mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.^[36]
As an introduced species, European Starlings are not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.^[37] Starlings are considered a nuisance species in North America. The birds, which travel in enormous flocks, often pose dangers to air travel, disrupt cattle operations, chase off native birds, and roost on city blocks. They leave behind corrosive droppings and hundreds of millions of dollars of damage every year. In 2008, U.S. government agents poisoned, shot and trapped 1.7 million starlings, more than any other nuisance species.^[38]

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Fabs, Incredible behavior/action! I like the composition and the blurred wings. Thanks for sharing.

[John Chardine]

This is an outstanding behaviour capture Fabs! It illustrates the "starling problem" very well. The species was introduced into North America from Europe in the 1800s and competed with North American cavity nesters, usually successfully. Here's it is tackling a bird much bigger than itself and winning.

Here's a good paper on the subject:

http://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/...g/COOK1928.htm

[Steve Canuel]

Great capture! Grab the weapon before it can be used on you!

[denise ippolito]

Fabs, This is awesome. I love the action you captured and you got a great shot of it.:) Fantastic!

[Stephen Stephen]

Fabs this is just an incredible image! Thanks for sharing.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Awesome capture my friend. It certainly shows just how brutal they really were. A day we will long remember.

[Ed Cordes]

Fabs, thanks for teaching us with this terrific image of real action in real life. It is kind of amazing how violent the natural world is. Your image is a reminder of that. Super capture.

[Fabs Forns]

Thanks everyone, especially Axel and John for the interesting info.
Poetic gestures may bring big consequences when messing with nature.

[Markus Jais]

Great action and behavior very well captured.
It is ironic and sad that the species is causing problems for native species in North America while it is declining in many parts of Europe where the Starling itself is native.

Markus

[Bill McCrystyn]

Nice, nice image of nature at a peak moment. It shows just how fast these birds are. We are looking at a nano second reaction time. Great job Fabs!

[Vida van der Walt]

Wow Fabs! Incredible behavior captured so superbly. That claw grasping the beak is awesome! I can look at this again and again.

[arash_hazeghi]

Crazy shot Fabs, did and excellent job not an easy shot at all, you nailed it!!! Congrats

[Daniel Cadieux]

That is too cool!!! Looks like something out of a cartoon:D. I also like the splash of yellow shafts from the flicker's wings. You and Judy really made the best of the situation!

[Kiran Poonacha]

Great story telling image this fabs, loved the wing blurr too...

[Jonathan Ashton]

Excellent shot Fabs - timing is outstanding. It is probably of little consolation but in various parks of IK the starlings are regarded as a nuisance. The population rises and crashes periodically and they are now nowhere near as common a garden bird as they used to be. To see an enormous flock at dusk really is an amazing sight.

[Adrian David]

Fantastic action shot!!! I'm speechless!

[Michael Wolf]

Outstanding image!

The say "A picture is worth a thousand words" comes to mind as I view this as I have heard the stories of the attack but this image really brings it home!

[paul leverington]

Gave me a big hearty chuckle when I first opened it. Serious stuff though and your shot Fabs illustrates that quite powerfully. Even with the program killing off 1.7 million starlings, has their nos. really been reduced significantly? The whole problem is another example of insensitivity to nature--yet we most of the time don't realize it. That guy never thought he was doing any harm at the time and to be honest most people now are of the same mind. And not only are our native species paying the price but what did the starlings do wrong to get the axe? They are quite a beautiful bird actually and what a survivor. Worth some admiration in my book.
I would think this shot could easily get published for an article on the subject Fabs.

Paul

[Stu Bowie]

Those claws clamping the flicker's bill is simply PRICELESS Fabs. An incredible capture, and very well done.

[Arthur Morris]

Obviously spectacular. Congrats! Have you seen dead starlings fly before????? ;) :) My favorite part of the image is the flicker's left foot on the tree.

[Connie Mier]

This is just interesting as all heck. The foot grab is priceless, what an awesome capture.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Fabs, just an awesome shot. Perfect moment captured. Interesting reading this. Coming form India, I used to be thrilled to see starlings in my early days here.

[Nancy A Elwood]

Fabs you have out did yourself with this one!! Unbelieveable action!!

[Charles Glatzer]

Fabs,

Killer image!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best,

Chas