Before I had my deck screened, I would let Raleigh and Coco out on the unscreened deck when I was there to keep an eye on them. I discovered that Coco was very good at catching birds. She never killed them, she played with them.

On a couple of occasions she brought the birds in the house, then proceeded to let them go so she could play with them inside. Needless to say I was not thrilled by this, but the first time it happened I was able to quickly shoo the poor finch back out to the deck.

Not so with the downy woodpecker...

When Coco caught a downy woodpecker, the bird flew into the bedroom and tried to take refuge behind the headboard of the bed. This is one time that Coco and Raleigh worked together. One went for the bird from under the bed, the other from on the bed. They jumped on and off to try a side attack, very nearly knocking over a table and a couple of lamps while the poor bird flapped in terror. I had no idea how I could get the bird out without the house being destroyed.

Finally the woodpecker flew out from the shelter of the bed and clung for dear life to a door hinge. I momentarily thought "now what?" but then grasped the bird from behind to try carrying it out to the deck. I had a fear of being pecked the whole way, but since the bird was semi-catatonic with fear that did not happen. He flew away, seemingly OK. I rushed to the chiropractor appointment I was already late for and told everyone what had just ensued, to the amusement of all.

- HOSTPat

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