“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

-Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Patience Rewarded

    
     I think the woodpeckers are my favorite.  Aside from Hortense of course.  Today they were especially active.  I'm not sure why some days are better than others but I'm convinced the birds know more than I do.  It rained over night so maybe the bugs were out.  Whatever the reason, within five minutes of walking out my back door I'd seen four different species of woodpecker.  The Northern Flicker was making quite a racket, while the Red Belly went to town on my back fence much to my chagrin.  Later while I was watching a downy and stalking what may have been a house wren, I saw the one I'd been waiting for.  A female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker!  I knew seeing one was a possibility around here, but until this morning it hadn't happened.  Every Hairy I saw I scrutinized to make sure that wasn't what it was.  I'm fairly certain this was a sapsucker though.  It was bigger than the nearby Downy and the pattern on it's back was more mottled than the Hairy and more conclusively it did not have a white belly.  Now all I need for the day to be complete would be to see a Pileated.  Though I'm pretty stoked even if I don't.
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/normtownsend/4421284478/">Norm Townsend</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

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