SkyWatch

I am not sure if he is the bruiser or the bruisee, but either way, I have a Red-bellied Woodpecker hanging around the yard again.   It seems to me that the sky always looks bluer (when it’s not gray, cloudy, snowing) in winter.  To see other skies, check out Skywatch.

Skywatch

Right.  It’s Skywatch.  Ok, I’m watching….Um, what am I watching for????

To see what other people and birds are watching, check out Skywatch.

Wordless Wednesday-scary tree

Migration way-station

Migration makes for strange bed–er–tree fellows.  I saw the Yellow-shafted Flicker and the Eastern Bluebird.  What I did not see until the Flicker flew away was the Blue-headed Vireo.  Can you see it?  Ok.  I know the picture is crappy, but try squinting.   I put in some arrows to help.   Three in a tree.  Wahoo.  I love migration.

Snake in a tree

Thinking some kids had thrown an old bicycle inner tube up in a tree, I only gave it a passing glance until my friend yelled over, “Hey.  What’s that in that tree?  Is it a snake?”  I looked away from a promising woodpecker hole to throw a glance in the direction they were looking.  Huh!  The things you see when you actually look.  I walked over to them to contemplate the non-inner tube.  We decided it probably was a rat snake since they can climb trees and birds and eggs are some of the things they eat.  It’s tail was still hanging in what appeared to be a large hole.  What it was doing in a dead tree in the middle of a swamp is anybody’s guess.  But it looked full and happy.  Or at least satiated and not moving in the hazy sunlight.

Almost Favorite Woodpecker

Out of the corner of my eye, I happened to see the flash of white on wings.  Tracking the bird to a tree, I saw it stash an acorn in a tiny acorn-sized hole.  I walked around the tree looking it up and down.  The whole tree was a pantry full of carefully stored food.  Acorn Woodpeckers do the darnest thing.  I have seen them in both California and Arizona.  They are easy to see not only in trees but also drilling in telephone poles along the highway.  I love that.

My favorite woodpecker actually is the Pileated.  What’s yours?

Wordless Wednesday