In my youth, the Red-bellied Woodpecker was fairly common in the oak forests of eastern USA, but rare in Ontario.

The range in now rapidly expanding to the north where it inhabits suburban woodlots and visits bird feeders.

I even see it in mid-winter.

Other birds:































Species list: great blue heron, Canada goose, mallard, American black duck, red-breasted merganser, turkey vulture, ring-billed gull, herring gull, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, eastern pewee, blue jay, black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, American robin, ruby-crowned kinglet, golden-crowned kinglet, yellow-rumped warbler, house sparrow, red-winged blackbird, common grackle, northern cardinal, American goldfinch, white-throated sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, song sparrow. (27 species)
Park views:








Today’s groups:


NATURE POETRY
’Tis all a myth that Autumn grieves,
For, watch the rain among the leaves;
With silver fingers dimly seen
It makes each leaf a tambourine. – Samuel Minturn Peck (1854–1938)
Miles Hearn
Birds! Wonderful birds! And a chipmunk! Beautiful colours, delightful plants!
The red bellied woodpecker looks like a punk rocker with his neon red feathers!