The Meek Ones

Our evening dinner has been blessed with excellent viewing conditions of the other diners, and I have been keenly interested in the frenetic doings as various parents (?) are assaulting the suet feeders. Some of the species are distinctive for their aggressiveness: Catbirds, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, and Mockingbirds. Some are forced to wait for the big birds to make space (e.g. Wrens, Pine Warblers, Brown Headed Nuthatches) and two... are far too gentle for their throw weight. I routinely see American Robins, and more especially these Northern Flickers allow even smaller birds to push them aside. One female Flicker (shown) is unfailingly meek and patient as she waits her turn on the rail. I'm surprised. She's very nearly the biggest bird out there. Her mate's not much different and is regularly pushed around. To be sure, the Flickers make up for their meekness with a prodigous appetite, but all the same I'm finding myself getting irritated with the backyard bullies and even fired on (with water, please) one Red Bellied who was simply too pushy. Such is our dinner entertainment!