Another Red-Bellied Woodpecker

It's amazing what you can find if you just look. After looking in the direction of another loud knocking sound of a tree I found this red-bellied woodpecker wandering around up there. I never expected to see so many different kinds of bird when I first started paying attention to them.

At first I was only struggling to get a picture of a bird; any picture, any bird. It was hard and they almost seemed to be teasing me. But then a few American robins slowed down enough for me to get a good look at them, and a few pictures to go along with it.

Now I've taken pictures of many different kinds of birds. The red-bellied woodpecker is the third kind of woodpecker I've seen now. It seems like once you find one then another one is waiting right behind that one to get its picture taken and to give you a good look at it.

When I found my first downy woodpecker I thought it was probably the only kind of woodpecker around. Then I began seeing more woodpeckers that looked like the downy, but bigger. I assumed they were more downy woodpeckers, but I later discovered that these were their bigger brother the hairy woodpecker.

In what I now consider my limited thoughts back then I figured they both existed  there because they looked so similar. It had to be because they are so closely related that they tolerated each other. Birds are so hard to find, so I assumed that was the end of my woodpecker experience. Little did I know.

Then last year I saw my first red-bellied woodpecker in another forest. Amazing! But that would never happen here in my smaller nature park. How could it? We already had the other two. But here comes the red-bellies in this place too!

Each kind of woodpecker has a different sound. This red-bellied woodpecker has an unmistakable deep whirring warble that once you hear one time you won't forget. And of course there is the rapid knocking sounds that accompany most woodpeckers. It sounds like heaven unless it's on the side of your house.

And then there is the other red-bellied woodpecker I've shown you recently. I told you I found its nesting spot. I even showed you the hole it made in the tree. Did I encounter this bird again? I will answer that question some time next week after a few other encounters with other critters I'll bring to you.

With the coming of spring comes many new adventures. Too many to tell. But I'll still try to bring you as many as I can. I may still skip a day here and there as my health determines, but I hope to bring you some amazing stuff. Let's see what tomorrow brings.


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