I took advantage of the crisp blue sky, sun, and cool air this morning and walked into Luria Park hoping to catch a glimpse of the resident Red-headed Woodpeckers. The morning did not disappoint.
After hearing the short loud calls and quick hard drumming, I spied the Red-headed Woodpecker near the Raymondale entrance to Luria Park, to the far left of the kiosk high on a tree snag. He drummed a lot and remained in the same place for quite a while. He was pretty far away and high up so the photos aren't that great but you see the distinctive red head, white belly and black and white striped back.
In addition to the Red-headed Woodpecker, I saw a first for me in Luria Park: the Field Sparrow.
This pink beaked little fellow has a distinctive bouncing ball like song. He also has a wide rusty cap and narrow white eye ring.
It was a sparrow morning as I also saw a White-throated Sparrow poking around the muddy stream bank.
These nifty sparrows will soon be heading out of our area to breed northward.
In the bushes along the edge of the park, a Song Sparrow was vigorously singing.
Note the distinctive triangular black dots beneath the beak.
Luria Park was filled with song this morning. Red-winged Blackbirds, Blue Jays, and Northern Cardinals sang and sang.
The male Northern Cardinal will sing to attract a mate or to warn off intruders into his territory.
One the way back to Raymondale I saw a hole in a tree where a couple of years ago we saw Hairy Woodpeckers nesting. This time a White-breasted Nuthatch had taken up residence.
And high up a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks circled and called. Here is one of the two:
Spring is in full swing in our little corner of the world. More and more birds will be migrating through so take a look!
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