September 18, 2006 [LINK / comment]

Red-headed woodpeckers!

Another quick check of Bell's Lane late on this gorgeous afternoon yielded more pleasant surprises: At least one adult Red-headed woodpecker and at least one juvenile Red-headed woodpecker were chattering and flying about the tops of some big oak trees. I saw several of those woodpeckers in South Dakota in July (), but they are relatively rare in Virginia. This family was no doubt migrating southward. Today's list:

• Red-headed woodpeckers (A, J)
• Wilson's warbler (close!)
• Magnolia warbler (very close!)
• Red-bellied woodpecker
• Brown thrasher
• Catbirds, Chickadees, Titmice, Mockingbirds

Oddly, there was much less bird activity overall than there was yesterday at the same time.