Thursday, January 2
I was delighted that a male pileated woodpecker came to Mark and Diane’s suet feeder quite frequently during the day – especially morning and evening.
They are crow-sized – about 18″ long – and often make a lot of noise. Diane recognized the sound when he was at the feeder – which alerted us to go to the window.
They have a very long beak and love using it to find bugs on trees or suet at feeders.
After he left, a squirrel came toward the feeder in hopes of finding something to eat.
Mark and Diane’s winter hydrangeas looked pretty against the snow.
Diane left the house to care for her friend Cynthia – where she goes almost every week day. She is companion/care-giver/grocery-shopper/and whatever Cynthia needs on any given day. Right now she has some health struggles, so Diane is the go-between in keeping her daughters informed on what is happening and sometimes takes her to the doctor or visits her in the hospital.
The woodpecker was back for it’s evening meal – about 3 pm.
We don’t know if it was the same one that came in the morning, but we know it is a male, because the male has red on the cheek marking. The female cheek marking is totally black.
They are never still and are quite aware of their surroundings.
“I keep seeing a strange lady. I wonder why she is always at the window.”
“I wonder if she can see me now.”
Whether he was concerned about seeing me or not – I do know I enjoyed watching him. 🙂