Bluebird box surprise!

Red-bellied Woodpecker hatchlings inside Bluebird box

Home Improvement Micromanagement

For weeks, we watched as our resident male red-bellied woodpecker (Clyde) went to work every morning on their nest cavity. Slowly but surely. he got it big enough to crawl into, then spent countless hours excavating from inside, blowing the woodchips out with a glazed look in his eyes. Periodically, his mate (Bonnie) would show up and give him this look…the look that all husbands love when working on their Honey-Do lists!

Red-bellied dad and junior

This summer, we’ve had two pairs of red-bellied woodpeckers feeding fledglings around our property. I was lucky to be sitting outside early one morning when this male brought one of his offspring to a nearby birch tree to feed it. Watching birds care for their young is always magical.

Hide and seek

This mother red bellied woodpecker brought food to its baby, which stayed in the tree.