Woodpecker Day

One good thing about having many trees is–woodpeckers.

We see them fairly often in the winter eating birdseed on the back railing, but today I was so fortunate as to see them in the woods, doing that thing they do with trees.

I heard them first, of course.  A thudding and then the irritated “Chowchowchowchow!” the red-bellied woodpecker uses to alert us, I guess, to his or her presence.  I spotted this one working in an area of medium-sized trees at the top of the cliff downstream of the bridge over Buck Creek.

In the winter we almost always see a male and a female, who both become displeased if they notice I’m watching them out the kitchen window.  They seem to think I’m a threat and will fly if they catch me enjoying their glorious progress up the railing, their smooth convexness snowplowing seeds out of the way.

While listening to the red-bellied, I noticed movement in front of me.

Taptap.  Taptap.  The downy woodpecker was discretely checking small limbs upstream, proceeding charmingly up the trunk like a tiny black and white feathered elevator, making regular stops.  Every so often it chirped, meticulously covering its territory so as not to miss a potential meal.

As if these two weren’t enough to make me want to write, I was almost back to the house when I heard yet another ratatat.

This glorious bird was flying from tree to tree near our pond, keeping an eye on me, but still researching meal options. It was a pileated woodpecker.

Hopefully, it’s still on the willow tree.  I’m going to check.