Red-Bellied Woodpecker Showing Belly

Red-Bellied Woodpecker, up close

I always thought this beauty should have been named for his head rather than his underside that's rarely this visible. Yesterday I got a vivid photo that illustrates his namesake perfectly. Thank you for all of your comments about my mistaken identity of the bird that perished this week. I now agree it was a Mourning Dove rather than a Hawk. It is a gorgeous Sunday morning here at my cottage with a cloudless blue sky. See you tonight. xo

Extinct Ivory Billed Woodpecker

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) from The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands (1754) by Mark Catesby (1683-1749). Original from The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library via

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone. I am up in the middle of the night because the howling wind woke me up and I'm wide awake. The power is still on and that's a good thing for the people around me with no generators. I'll see you later. xo

Chickadee and Downy Woodpecker at My Feeder

My birds, large and small, as illustrated by this Chickadee portrait. I have already featured the Red-bellied Woodpecker by himself. Chickadees are hard to capture because they don't stay on the perch very long. They just grab a seed and fly away very quickly.

The Downy Woodpecker is a frequent visitor but he has a much harder time latching on to a perch than the large woodpecker above who is quite the expert. Both of these woodpeckers feed from my balcony floor too when the smaller birds are hogging the feeder. I use my Nikon camera for bird photography because of the telephoto lense. Enjoy your Sunday.  xo

Red-bellied woodpecker at my Feeder

He is my favorite bird thus far and the showiest because of his size and beautiful red head. I hope he won't hold it against me when I get my sunflower kernels only bird seed without any peanuts and other tree nuts in the mix. Otherwise, I would be headed to the poor house in no time. This large woodpecker has an easier time at my feeder than the much smaller Downy Woodpecker who doesn't always latch on a perch the first try. But he perseveres and eventually lands and feeds. I am a happy bird lady and will continue to show you photographs whenever I get a great one. Happy Friday. xo

Young Red Headed Woodpecker

This is adorable. I would be thrilled to see this little guy in person, with or without my camera. Too cute! via