Every once in a while we experience the dubious joy of watching an aggressive alpha bird dominate a feeder tree and drive off all comers. Northern Mockingbirds and Yellow Rumped Warblers performed this role in the past. Suddenly, I'm seeing an American Robin of all species take on the office of "troll" at the main feeder tree. Just last night I watched said Robin driving off cardinals, Yellow Rumped Warblers, nuthatches, and Mourning Doves. It didn't matter whether the offender wanted suet, peanuts, safflower seed, or sunflower. Robin the Barbarian repelled them all. At times he seemed to tolerate Carolina Wrens and cardinals, but at any given moment that mood changed. This is astonishing behavior from a species that really isn't a feeder bird. It will be monitored and if I need to, I'll move feeders to other places. Otherwise I may have to wait until migration calls and the aggressive Robin heads north. Should be interesting.
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