A Backyard Surprise!

We had just gotten home from taking my mother in law out for breakfast (Happy Mother's Day to all moms!) when I noticed a different bird in the front yard. I grabbed my binoculars and saw a Swainson's Thrush sitting in a pine tree on the west side of the house. Nice bird, first of year. Pretty good I thought. Then I went into the kitchen and glanced out our back window toward our feeders and I almost fainted. There, big as life, was a Red-headed Woodpecker on our locust tree not 20 feet from me. Most years I have to work hard to see one and some years I don't see any. To have one in the yard is mind boggling. The photos below were taken by my son Jamie and I've cropped them down to get the best look possible. My #1 son is doing pretty well this weekend. Last night he heard an owl calling outside his bedroom window at about 10:30 in a cold rain. We had a great time listening to a Barred Owl hooting not too far from the house. The interesting part is that I don't live out in the woods, our house is in the middle of suburbia. You never know what will show up in migration.



Not the sharpest picture but certainly identifiable.


Time to get out to the woods...