New yard bird

I was so excited to see this red-headed woodpecker in my yard. It's the 7th species of woodpecker I've had, and that pretty much covers all the possibilities - there are two other species in Minnesota but they stay to the north. The red-headed woodpecker is in serious decline and there is a program here in Minnesota called Red-Headed Woodpecker Recovery. I'm thinking about 'planting a snag' in my yard. We have pretty good habitat around the neighborhood so I'm hoping it will stick around.

This photo was taken through my dirty glass patio door, because the bird is very skittish. Haven't seen it on the feeder yet, but the tree it's in here is right next to them.

They Seem to Be more Insect Eater than Feeder Sitters Liz, Congrats!!!

That's great Liz... a Red-headed of your own. Congrats!

Hope he sticks around and gives you lots more photo ops.

Kenn

Brilliant colors, especially the red and the blue. Love the green leaves, perfect addition

Lucky you. Want me to come up and train him?

looking forward to more pics as he gets tamer.

Hopefully he (she? No way to tell) will be tempted by the peanuts I put out!! And learn from the other woodpeckers, because I have tons of them around.

Looks to me like he is still casing the joint. If he's been there a couple hours, he will probably stay but he wants to know the pecking order. Red Heads do not migrate. The most they do is spread out from population pressure.

Yeah, we have some good habitat around here for them. There is a Masonic retirement home just a block over, which lots of trees and open fields. Then there's a swanky country club down the road that is certified by Audubon and they have lots of habitat. Tons of bluebird boxes. Plus the Minnesota River NWR just 1/2 mile away.

Congratulations Liz...I hope he/she stays around for you. They are so beautiful and we only get to see them during migration!

Once he starts carrying peanuts away, you can get a general direction of his larder tree. They do store food and I bet the larder won't be far from his nest.

Time to do some window cleaning then

Congrats Liz.. With all the activity at your feeder, he/she should find something to like!

Nice shot, even through glass!

What great colors! Even through the glass, it came out great.
_______________