Ever see a real HOSP fight? Not two of them nipping at each other on a feeder, but a real fight?

My blues fledged on Tuesday and yesterday I had to go out of town so I did not take down and clean the nestbox as I usually do.

I got home after midnight and this morning when I looked out on the yard I saw more HOSP than I have ever seen. It looked like Home Depot. Most of them were on and around my bluebird box. There was a big, ugly one, all puffed up sitting on the roof. His lady friend was smiling from the window. Like so:

A second male HOSP, about the same size, flew toward the nestbox. Puffy flew out to meet him and they struggled in the grass for several minutes, literally, then broke apart and went at it again for several more minutes. I had always assumed that when a HOSP attacked a bluebird, it came at it straight on. Pecked at the eyes etc. I now wonder about that. Puffy seemed to hold the other HOSP somehow and repeatedly pecked at the side of his neck, above the shoulder. Never once did they go at it face to face. I took several pictures but it was hard since they rolled and flitted around so much to where it was hard to keep them in focus.

Finally the other bird broke away and fled and Puffy and his lady returned to the nestbox.

This story does have a happy ending. I quickly put the VanErt trap in the box, removed some of the old nesting material so it would work and went back to my camera. We caught Puffy in just a few minutes.

Here he is making sure the box is safe for her to enter after he saw me messing around with it.

And here his lady friend stares in shock at the dreaded red dot.

Puffy was transferred to the DRST and his lady friend joined him there. Two other HOSP later tripped the VanErt. One was a big male and I wonder if it was the other one in the fight. All four have taken early retirement.

Dave