Hello everyone,

A new species for the Cicada feast list: WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH. We had
two of them riding out the storm on a dry section of our large silver maple
-- a parent (did not note which sex), and a male (very black crown stripe)
downy young. Stan Arnold will read this and say "Yes!" because we live in
one of his Anne Arundel County Atlas blocks. While the downy young waited
under an overhang, the parent picked cicadas from the trunk and used a nice
technique to make short work of them. It grabbed each one, pushed it under
a section of loose bark, pounded it in, removed the wings, and then took
manageable bites. Periodically it would remove the cicada and reposition
it, stopping once to feed the whining young (and very plump) bird.

If anyone IS keeping a list, you can add Red-headed Woodpecker as well
(posted in a message before this thread). I've seen many other species
feasting on cicadas, but they have all been mentioned in other peoples'
e-mails.

Stay dry (or at least find something good!),

Bill

Bill Hubick
Linthicum, Maryland
www.billhubick.com