I do know that one of my earliest, clearest memories of any bird was of a red-headed woodpecker. When I was young, a neighbor friend of my mom had one coming to her feeders and we went to see it. My, but they are beautiful birds! No wonder it made such an impression on me.
Photo by Julie Zickefoose, used with permission |
I've only seen red-headed woodpeckers a few times over the years since my first one. As a species, they have undergone a sharp decline due to various factors, such as habitat loss. You can read more about their interesting life history by clicking here for the Cornell page about them.
The last time I saw a red-headed woodpecker was on a road trip our family took across the USA several years ago. We saw a few of them, including two that had been hit in the road. They commonly are hit as they forage for insects along roadsides. (Yes, we stopped to examine them).
Red-headed woodpeckers are more often seen in the midwest than in eastern Pennsylvania. So, I was very excited to see one recently!
On Sunday afternoon, my brother and I were birding on the farm in southeastern Pennsylvania where I grew up. We had seen lots of birds, in particular; all the kinds of woodpeckers we could expect to see there. Downy, hairy, northern flicker, red-bellied, and pileated woodpeckers were on our list, and a yellow-bellied sapsucker that we were pretty sure of. So, when we noticed another woodpecker, we checked it out more carefully to try to confirm a sapsucker. We were very glad we did, because this one wasn't a sapsucker... not with those dark wings with large white patches, white belly, and brown head!
Woo-hoo... it was an immature red-headed woodpecker!
He or she (both look alike) was taking beechnuts from this tree, and flying to a couple of different spots close-by. It would either quickly eat or store the nut, then fly back to get more.
We shared the sighting with my brother's wife thru a cell phone call, and she quickly walked down to the woods to see it, too. A neighbor even showed up on horseback, though that was a coincidence!
Woodpecker woods! |
While I don't expect to ever add red-headed woodpecker to our property list here in northern Pennsylvania, you never know. I remember as a kid how excited my mom was when red-bellied woodpeckers started coming to our bird feeders (and I think that's why they are still one of my favorite birds).
male red-bellied woodpecker |
Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the memory of the one near where I grew up, and the one we saw there on Sunday!
Glad I could add to such a lovely post. Thanks for the links--and the memories. How I wish Garrett would return!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes--put North Bend State Park on your must-do list, before all the nesting trees fall into the water.
You can rent canoes right there by the boat landing.
Happy blogging, Nancy!
JZ
Julie, Thanks so much... your photo of Garrett is gorgeous-- I hope he returns, too! I do hope to get to North Bend someday.
DeleteBeautiful!! They're such striking birds and I'm so happy to know that love of them runs in the family. :) Now I just need to be able to remember how to tell them apart...they still trick me a little bit. But whatever kind, I always enjoy seeing them too!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Laura