Boy, are you lost!
A little over a year ago, just before Christmas 2011, we had a most unexpected arrival at our bird feeders: a male Red-Bellied Woodpecker. It has a bright orange head and a slight orange tinge on its belly. Its red head looks like a slicked-back 1950s hairdo, so naturally we named our visitor “Elvis”. Much to our amazement, Elvis stuck around at the feeder through to the end of May, spending hours there every day. He was fearless, fending off crowds of starlings and bluejays. It seems that other Red-Bellied Woodpeckers were sighted across Nova Scotia that same season, from Bridgewater to Parrsboro to Halifax to Goshen and Lochaber. We haven’t had a sighting this winter yet, but remain hopeful.
John Lamb and Alison Lee
