My Own Private Feud

West Virginia, with its Hatfield - McCoy feud, has nothing on my back patio! Last evening, not long before dusk, I had a front row seat for a family feud between the Robins and the Cardinals. Two competing bird pairs obviously want territorial rights for nesting in my Bradford Pears.[I say nesting since I saw the male robin, earlier, with a beak full of string and fiber.]
Buddy noticed the feudal attacks first. He stuck his stubby nose right up against the glass patio doors, swivelling his head from side to side, his attention riveted on the dive bombing males. Swoop! Swoop! Screech! Over and back! Eventually the two birds landed on the fence, perched about 8 feet from each other and pecked the boards fiercely, ruffled feathers increasing their sizes two-fold. Break time over, the dive bombing resumed.
The females got into it a few times but it was mostly a guy thing. I felt a bit sorry for a small, bright goldfinch caught in the middle. He seemingly wanted only to get a few beaksful of seed from the feeder but kept having to fly off to avoid getting caught between the opposing sides. So far as I can determine, the argument was still on when dusk settled. I suppose I'll know who won when the fledglings make their first glides from branch to fence top. If I ever find out, I'll let you know. I couldn't help but wonder, though, why the robins couldn't simply opt for one tree, leaving an equally nice tree on the other side for the cardinals. It seems a no-brainer compromise to me. But I frequently wonder equally about the senseless arguments of humankind. They often don't make much