How much wood would a woodpecker peck....

Here's an important lesson I'm learning as a daily photographer: Keep the windows clean. We have bird feeders hanging outside several windows, and sometimes the only way to get a decent bird shot is through a window. Which usually works pretty well, unless there's a season or two of schmutz on the window.

This is a female downy woodpecker -- and a smart one, she came right to the suet block that was labeled "for woodpeckers" on the package. (I wonder if they make suet for bald eagles?) I was amazed that I didn't scare her off with my frantic dive for the camera and then my frantic antics of changing lenses. We don't see these guys very often, so it was an exciting moment in my otherwise routine morning.

Enjoy her LARGE - and try to ignore the enlarged schmutz.