Patience...

I have been trying for at least a week to get this shot ... everytime I've seen the male woodpcker (below) feeding one of his fledglings, they have been behind a branch.  So, I've gotten loads of pictures of woodpecker bodies with their heads completely obscured.  You can probably imagine my delight when I was having tea on the deck this morning and saw Mister and his daughter show up...and proceed to interact in full view!  Snap, snap, snap - about 50 shots later I had a handful that I consider "keepers", this being among them.  

Three other shots, starting HERE on Flickr

Red-bellied woodpeckers are common throughout wooded areas of the eastern US.  They are jay-sized birds, about 9 inches (24 cm) in length.  They will readily come to suet feeders and some develop a taste for peanuts, sunflower seeds and fruit.  And some other fun facts, from Cornell...

A Red-bellied Woodpecker can stick out its tongue nearly 2 inches past the end of its beak. The tip is barbed and the bird’s spit is sticky, making it easier to snatch prey from deep crevices. Males have longer, wider-tipped tongues than females, possibly allowing a breeding pair to forage in slightly different places on their territory and maximize their use of available food.

Thunderstorms today so I'm staying close to home.  A particularly heavy storm came through this morning and knocked our power out for a short while - interestingly, the cats couldn't care less about the crashes of thunder.


Thanks for the lovely comments on yesterday's damselfly!  I should mention that I didn't do any fiddling with the image - the purple color is true.  That said, I rarely see a variable dancer that purple!


Happy Hump Day, people...