Sunday, we canceled our planned activities and spent the whole day indoors because of an ice storm. Even though we didn't go out, once again we enjoyed the show the birds and critters provided. Along about the middle of the afternoon, what did to my wondering eyes appear? A pileated woodpecker!
She was noshing on a suet cake with all of her beauty and grandeur. Although we see other woodpeckers in abundance, we only see a pileated one about once or twice a year. I was excited to say the least.
Here are a few things I saw this week
during a Second Look.
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| Sunday morning began with snow and turned to sleet and freezing rain in the afternoon. |
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| We always see plenty of juncos around the area of feeder. |
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| But what we hadn't noticed until last weekend was the huge littering of sunflower seed shells under the patio table. Apparently, the juncos have been getting seeds from the feeder and going under the table to eat them. |
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| The suet disappears a lot faster when the squirrels are eating than when the birds are. |
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| On the left is the pileated woodpecker that visited. As soon as she left, a male downy woodpecker (right) flew in. Downy woodpeckers are the most common kind we see at the feeder. Notice how much bigger the pileated one is. |
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| This is the pileated taking off just before the downy flew in. The pileateds are known for the white under their wings which is very evident here. I also find it interesting that, even with that big wing flap, her toes are still anchored to the feeder. |
