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Submitted By
Gillian Henry
Luck, Wisconsin, USA
Description
Red-headed woodpeckers are migratory in our part of the world (NW Wisconsin) – we do not expect to see them in the wintertime. It was a bit of a surprise then, when one showed up on our feeder at the end of January (2019). It was the worst possible time – the polar vortex was sweeping down across the northern states and the temperature on our coldest night plummeted to -40 F. The woodpecker would arrive at the feeder in the morning with his back covered in frost. He seemed very lethargic at first, spending his days clinging to a Norway pine in our yard, moving only to come to the feeder for peanuts or to eat snow from the branches of the tree. He survived though, and became a regular, if increasingly infrequent, visitor to our feeder throughout the winter.
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One reply on “Winter Redhead”
Wonderful snowy Red-head!