Bill and Norma's descriptions of their birdy Saturday counts, when it was so misty and drizzly down here, reminded me that I forgot to post this yard oddity: on our almost treeless acre (2 cottonless cottonwoods and 3 basswoods that the birds generally do not like much; 4 mature Austrian pines that they do use for shelter, and a couple of meager ponderosas and one awful ash), we had a wanderer from the East. Not a magi but a juvenile: red-headed woodpecker. That's not one that I expected to add to our yard count--the last ones I saw were in the Comanche grasslands last June.
I had heard it early, when I went out for the newspaper, but merely thought it was the local flicker with a headcold. Then later I glimpsed it flying across the back yard and knew it was going to be a goodie. I'm sure the rest of you have noticed that after 5 years in a place, new yardbirds are not easy to come by! David Waltman came over to try to confirm this, as I had to leave, but he couldn't relocate it. I'm 100% sure of this one however (I took the time to scope it). If you flip through the woodpecker pages in Sibley, there is not another cousin who looks like this young feller. For those who want details, the bird has a black back, a brown head, and strikingly white secondaries, visible both when perched and flying. Linda Central Boulder County north of Haystack Mtn -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
