I should have known that yesterday would be a good birding day when one of the Great Horned Owl parents visited my yard at 3 am and hooted away for over 15 minutes. With my windows open I often awake to hooting, and then quickly fall back asleep. It is truly relaxing.
I decided if the parents were willing to visit me, I should be sociable in turn. Shortly before sunset I hiked over to the nest and the owlets were showing they were siblings who would friends forever!
Once I walked home, I thought my birding was done, but with the last light of day a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker visited one of the three prime drumming trees in my yard. In total, yesterday all of these woodpecker species took a turn at drumming on the tree. I’m getting pretty good at knowing which species is visiting based upon the syncopation of the beat. My drumming tree visits were from:
- Downy Woodpeckers
- Hairy Woodpeckers
- Northern Flicker (seems to be a favorite catch for my owls)
- Pileated Woodpeckers
- Red-Bellied Woodpeckers
- Yellow-Bellied Woodpeckers (pictured below)
oh my gosh- those two little owls- being friends for life! made my heart sing. have not seen a sapsucker in our yard yet and just saw the first flicker today. thanks so much for visiting the owl family and sharing