Travels With Birds

Hairy Woodpecker  Picoides villosus

    This winter, for the first time that we can remember, a male Hairy Woodpecker has been visiting our feeders on a regular basis. Evidently it has found a feeder that appeals to it and the constant supply of peanuts no doubt made the decision a little easier! Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens has always been a frequent patron and at different times of the year we have been fortunate to have Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius and Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus visit our yard. I sometimes see a Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus on the nearby Benjamin Park Trail, hardly any distance at all as a bird flies, so we are always hopeful that this species will visit too. Four species of woodpecker in a suburban backyard seems pretty good to us and a fifth would be terrific. I suppose that Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus is always a possibility, but it seems to us that this is much more of a long shot. 

    In any event we continue to enjoy this male Hairy Woodpecker who has already been at the feeder several times this morning.