A Shocking Mystery
A neighbor of mine lost power to his house and after talking with a fellow from Entergy I found out a possible explanation. The switch that sits between the transformer and the power line had been tripped. On the ground below the telephone pole were the remains of a red-headed woodpecker and a blue jay. Both birds appeared to have died a violent death. What happened? My thinking is this- most birds are very territorial about their space and will attack and drive off other birds (even those of the same species) when entering that territory. One of the birds entered where it shouldn't have and a tussle ensued. Both distracted by the fight were not paying attention to their surroundings and either ran into a hot wire while at the same time touching something that was grounded or two wires with differing potentials and then poof- crispy critters. This was something they never saw coming...
Labels: blue jay, red-headed woodpecker, territoriality