Woodpeckers Part One

Very pleased to have a couple of Acorn Woodpeckers come by.

This is the male.

Bending down

Look how high up the right foot is.

Design - "Bee Mine"

Chart - "The Bee Book"

Designer - Stitches From the Heartland

Fabric - 32 count natural linen

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 12 June 2014

Completed - 14 June 2014 

And here's the female.

She prefers suet.

Potential for some young birds to show up in a few weeks.

White-Breasted Nuthatches Oh Joy!

Design - "Bee Mine"

Chart - "The Bee Book"

Designer - Stitches From the Heartland

Fabric - 32 count natural linen

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 12 June 2014

Completed - 14 June 2014 

The past three days I've had a family of three White-breasted Nuthatches hanging out on a large Douglas fir tree close to the house.  They've then been making forays to the suet feeders in the back yard. 

I am sharing way too many photos because they are adorable birds!

And I do not see them very often.

And it's my blog, right?  So I can do this.

Maybe my favorite photo.

I hope you enjoyed this series.

Juveniles Are Confusing

 

Design - "Bee Mine"

Chart - "The Bee Book"

Designer - Stitches From the Heartland

Fabric - 32 count natural linen

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 12 June 2014

Completed - 14 June 2014 

IDing newly fledged birds can be difficult.

Sometimes they look quite different from the mature adult form,

and if they are not with their parents...it can be tough.

Do you recognize this bird?

Though it looks very different from these mature adults - all the birds featured in this post are Dark-eyed Juncos.

It's Friday

Design - "Bee Mine"

Chart - "The Bee Book"

Designer - Stitches From the Heartland

Fabric - 32 count natural linen

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 12 June 2014

Completed - 14 June 2014 

Here we are - it's Friday

I captured an Orange-crowned Warbler...

...and if you look closely, you can actually see the orange crown - a rare event!

I had a couple of Cedar Waxwings fly in late in the evening.

One bird gave me a couple of nice poses.

Such a striking bird.

What's Going On?

Design - "Bee Mine"

Chart - "The Bee Book"

Designer - Stitches From the Heartland

Fabric - 32 count natural linen

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 12 June 2014

Completed - 14 June 2014

What's going on you ask?

No sign of baby quail yet.

I am seeing single males - they perch up high and call and call and call.

Lots of Flickers too.

No sign of youngsters yet.

I had a couple of Brown-headed Cowbirds come by.

This is later than I generally see them. 

It's a Boy!

Design - "Bee Mine"

Chart - "The Bee Book"

Designer - Stitches From the Heartland

Fabric - 32 count natural linen

Fibers - DMC - 2 strands over 2 threads

Started - 12 June 2014

Completed - 14 June 2014 

This is from an older chart I pulled out of my stash.  I like the colors used, and I added the four bee buttons at the corners.

Last week I looked out the front window and this is what I saw...

Three Acorn Woodpeckers!

My first thought was two babies on the left and a parent higher on the right.

But it was hard to tell, and maybe there was yet another Acorn hiding at the back of the tree that I could not see.

In this photo I thought a there was a parent bird - the father, and a baby bird.

Later last week I saw two Acorns on the gravel driveway.

Again a fledged baby and a parent.

This time it's pretty clear the baby is a boy and the parent is the father. 

The top of head is a large red patch followed by white closer the beak - that's a male.  The females have red, then some black, and then white.  So the patch of red atop the head is smaller on the females.   

Dad picked up some gravel bits...

...and gave them to his fluffy son.

"Thanks Dad!"

Below is my clearest set of father/son photos.

Dad on the left, boy on the right.

Just looking around...

Dad goes, "Ah-ha!"

"A bug!  I have a tasty bug!"

"Are you hungry?"

"I thought you might be!"

I am so chuffed that my Acorn colony has grown by at least one more bird!  Honestly, I'd been hoping for a girl to help out with egg production next year.  But hey, I'll take a boy, and I'll continue to watch...maybe there were two babies on the side of the tree.  Stay tuned!  

One year ago today Mom and I took in the Marylebone Fayre.