Today began gray and gloomy, but with the promise of sunshine later on in the day. I had decided the day before to give our local Quiet Waters Park a try today, even though it’s been disappointing in the past.
The Sun was beginning to shine by the time I arrived around 9:00, and it turned out to be a good choice.
I went to the Blue Heron Pavilion, as it leads down to the water, and I found a few ducks, one of which turned out to be my first Hooded Merganser. Subsequently, I headed back up the path and ran into a large mass of varied birds, including woodpeckers, finches, Cedar Waxwings and sparrows. A Pileated Woodpecker soon came into view and hung around for a while, which was a thrill for me, as I’ve only seen two others.
This Hooded Merganser was quite distant, and I thought it was a ruddy duck when I first saw it. I’m getting a teleconverter soon, which might allow for closer looks at these far away birds.
This appears to be a Yellow Rumped Warbler.
This Pileated Woodpecker was a real thrill for me.
He was eating berries as well as pecking at tree bark.
You always know when there’s a Red Bellied Woodpecker around, but it’s much easier to get a photo when the leaves have fallen.
I’m always impressed by a Downy Woodpecker’s thorough probing of their food source.
This Flicker made it a four woodpecker day.
The brilliant red color of the male Cardinal is easy to spot in the leafless woods.
A very large flock of Cedar Waxwings was feeding in the area. Look closely and you can see the red “Wax” droplets on the wings which give this bird his name.
It’s not always easy to get a Chickadee to stop long enough for a photo.
What a great day for you ans therefore,for me. Love them all but the pileated woodpeckeR was gorgeous. Is that what Woody is?
That seems to be the consensus.