For a couple of weeks earlier this month my morning walks were all about chasing Woodpeckers. We had at least three different kinds right here in the Park.
The red-heads are my favorites.
All of these birds are pretty camera shy. I felt really lucky to get a few halfway decent shots. Mostly they fly as soon as I aim the camera.
I hear the Pileated oftener than I see it. I'm not great at bird songs (or calls) but this one is unmistakable. These were taken at a distance (from our yard across the canal actually). This model for the cartoon Woody Woodpecker is much larger than the other two types here. (My bird book says 17" for this one, and 10" for the other two.)
The Red-bellied like to drum on the light posts. This post is on another street in the Park, but one year we had one who loved the post near us on the street side of the cottage. It certainly was a noisier morning alarm than the soft mockingbird song we're used to. I worried that the bird had some mental problems thinking he could get bugs from a metal post. But then I read that the more noise they make the more attractive they are to the female of the species.
It took quite a while to record my favorite red-head's progress up this electric pole. (I don't necessarily get an hour's worth of exercise when I walk for an hour before breakfast.) He just seemed to be climbing for the joy of it. I never really saw him pecking at the post at all.
He seemed happy that he made it to the top of the pole.
Maybe he just wanted to be king of the castle.
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- Linking to Judith's MOSAIC MONDAY; to Michelle's NATURE NOTES; to OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY (Lady Fi, Gattina, Arija, Sandy, Sylvia, and Jennifer); and to Stewart's WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY . Thank you to all of the hosts for providing these fun sharing opportunities.
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