Participant Photo: Non Counting Day Delight!

This is a shout out to all of us who get our rare birds on days when we are not doing a Feeder Watch count. I was so busy trying to take a photo of the first Hairy Woodpecker of the season that I nearly missed this female Yellow Bellied Woodpecker stopping by for a drink on this cold winter day!

This is only my second sighting of a YBW in our three winters in this house. She sure is a welcome addition but she is going to really complicate my “Woodpecker Bingo!” game! My heated birdbath combined with the neighbor’s woodlot brings me many woodpeckers. It is common to see the Pileated, Hairy, Downy, Northern Flickers and Red Bellies all in the same afternoon. So, I upped my game to trying to see / photograph not just one of each species but one of each sex of each species. Female Hairy woodpeckers are always the hardest to see in the winter here. Now, do I even try to add Yellow Bellies to my game?
Happy Birding Folks!