 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker |
I was just thinking today,
when will I see a new bird in the yard - it happened this evening after dinner. A little earlier while we were finishing our meal, a
Ruby-throated Hummingbird male came up to the large planter pots in front of our small deck landing at the patio sliding glass door
(1) - for five six seasons we have only seen females, so this one didn't count as "new." But the the
Red-bellied Woodpecker that swooped in and landed on the seed feeder was new, added to the sightings in previous years of
Downy and
Pileated Woodpeckers. All four of these birds are common in the eastern half of the United States, but is is good to see some additional diversity come our way. The only mystery, is why is it called "red-bellied?"
(2) From the three angles of the photographs I took, no sign of red on the belly. It was interesting that the bird went for the
seed feeder, rather than the
suet feeder as the
Downy Woodpecker does with regularity. That was the first thing Jan noted while we watched. When you consider the dreary clouded sky this evening and then add up all of the red we saw with the
Red-bellied Woodpecker,
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and the always-present
Northern Cardinal male - it is a nice contrast.
_____________________________
(1)
Verbena seems to have been the attractant.
(2) For a discussion about the "red belly," go to the link
here.
No comments:
Post a Comment