Nature clicks #156 - Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker  

What a surprise when I looked out the window yesterday morning and saw a Red-headed Woodpecker. I have seen it only ones before around our house and that was when I still shot a film camera, means at least six years ago. We have five other species of woodpeckers here but this one was missing in my digital library so far. I spent most of the morning to capture photos of this wonderful looking bird. The Red-headed Woodpecker was extremely aggressive to its cousins and especially rude to the Red-bellied Woodpeckers, who are about the same size. The next surprise came this morning when I saw a second one. They both were not very friendly to each other near the suet feeders in the yard. We wonder if they are just on their way through to breeding grounds further north or if they will stay here. This bird is not uncommon in our area, we have just not seen it very often on our rocky ridge here. Time will tell and for now we are just excited to see the Red-headed and enjoy its presence.