Entries from May 2008 ↓

Pileated Woodpecker in Iowa

This is another bird I photographed while at the Midwest Birding Symposium. We were on a boat ride in Iowa with other birders. It was a juvenile Pileated Woodpecker and it was fascinating to watch him.

And then he was gone!

I am glad I got a photo of it both flying and sitting on a tree leaning in the water. I feel lucky to have gotten a photo of a Pileated Woodpecker.

The Downy Pair - by Birdfreak

The Downy couple has had babies. When I walk under the Birch Tree, I can hear the babies making little sounds in the hole. The Mom and Dad are carrying bugs into the nest and the peeping sounds get louder.

Willow Tree Seat - good for Downy Woodpecker watching - Birdfreak

I like to sit on the Willow stump and watch the Downy Woodpeckers feed their babies and fly around to get food. My cousins like to watch the family too. We can’t play Wiffleball in the backyard because we don’t want to disturb the woodpeckers.

I hope to get photos of the babies when they come out of the nest!

A couple of Downy Woodpeckers have moved into the Birch Tree in our backyard. The male Downy flew by the hole that they are trying to nest in with food in his mouth. The female poked out of the hole and ate it right from his mouth!

She is hard to see, but she is sticking her head out of the hole

They have been making the hole for a few weeks now, and I think there might be eggs My cousin Sammie and I were watching the hole today after school as the female kept on poking her head out. After awhile, she flew away, so maybe there are not eggs yet.

Downy Woodpecker by Birdfreak

Also in the yard today I saw White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, American Crow, Lincoln’s Sparrow (which my Mom helped me find), American Goldfinch, and Northern Cardinal. I did not bird all weekend because I had a big baseball tournament.

I hope our new neighbors like the Birch Tree neighborhood!