Description

Bird arrived out of the blue Jan 27, stuck it out through the polar vortex although it looked extremely cold and never moved far away from the feeder except to roost. Mostly it just sat in a pine tree looking miserable and fluffed up like a pompom. It survived, even though we recorded the temperature on the morning of Jan 31 as -39C. The bird was last seen at the feeder on the morning of Feb 02 by which time it had warmed up to a comfortable 0C. Normally RHWs show up in May, although we have had a pair stay the entire winter in the past.

Species

• Red-headed Woodpecker