My stepdad and I share a love of birds. He’s in East Texas, and I’m in Central Texas, and we have great fun discussing our latest sightings. Some of our species overlap and some don’t, which means that sometimes we get bird envy of the other’s habitat. Today, while I sat in my car in my driveway, we reported on woodpeckers (among other species), and ended up on the subject of Red-bellied Woodpeckers and how they are so annoyingly named. The Red-bellied Woodpecker is most often recognized by the vibrant red feathers on its head, and yet it is not to be confused with the very aptly-named Red-headed Woodpecker, which boasts far more red feathers on its head and thus deserves the title. 
Nope, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is named for its blushing belly of sorts, but because it so often has its belly against the tree it is clinging to, we often don’t notice any hint of red except on the head. This leads to much confusion about the name of this bird, unless you happen to be a birder. But amazingly enough, as soon as I got off the phone with my stepdad, I captured this photo of a Red-bellied Woodpecker at my feeder, baring its red belly to the world (or at least to me). Sometimes the red is more vibrant than seen here, and other times you just see the blush effect. In any case, that’s why it’s called a Red-bellied Woodpecker and not a Red-headed Woodpecker. If asked, I’m sure I could give it a completely less confusing name, but I suspect the birders of the world would squawk about it (maybe even myself included). And yes, that pun was intentional.
Woodpeckers were definitely the birds of the day for me. Prior to my driveway birding, I was birding with the Capital Area Master Naturalists class at Commons Ford Ranch, where woodpeckers were present in mass quantity. Oh sure, we saw many sparrows, Barn Swallows, ducks, doves, Yellow-rumped Warblers, vultures, and others, but I was truly impressed by the number of woodpeckers.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a type of woodpecker
Almost immediately on our bird walk, we spotted a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, which barely took notice of us while it pounded and drilled for insects in the wood.
Landing on a telephone pole nearby was this Ladder-backed Woodpecker. Ultimately we saw many more of these, as well as Downy Woodpeckers and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers (who won the noisy prize today).
Not to be ignored, this Northern Cardinal was singing his heart out. He and a few other male cardinals were quite feisty today. Gee, does nesting season approach?
Above is a tree of White-winged Doves, plus one Mourning Dove. Can you spot it (ha, ha)? Yeah, I couldn’t either, not even when I was much closer. But that’s the advantage of birding with other people — everyone has a chance of glimpsing something that few to no one else get to see (binoculars and spotting scopes help, mind you). More often than not, however, people get to witness and confirm and ooh and aah over the sightings. Unless those silly birds just won’t sit still, that is!
Brown Creeper
Back at home, I became trapped in my driveway, first talking with my stepdad and then becoming mesmerized by the many dozens of birds that awaited my homecoming, apparently. Finches, woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, cardinals, doves — they all sat there at the feeders or in the trees, singing away, feasting, or just watching me from above. I ended up quietly reaching for the camera and binoculars on the backseat, and despite my nearness to my home’s comfortable furniture and food-bearing refrigerator, I lingered for many minutes in the driveway, just watching, listening, and snapping pictures.
Pine Siskin
House Finches
And then I rushed inside to start a long overdue blog post! Since I haven’t posted in a bit — okay, a while — I’d like to report my excitement over all the buds in the garden — spring be a’ coming! I just love this time of year when I get to see what plants have made it through winter and will be gracing our garden with their presence — happily, it looks like just about all of them will!
Looking forward to gardening and garden blog posting with frequency — M
What a beautiful story! I wish I were sitting in your driveway with you. And Commons Ford was obviously heavenly today. Thank you for clearing up the confusion, too, and helping us identify these wonders!
It’s a happy bird year so far, Linda!
We have a few red bellied woodpeckers in the area. honestly I think a bunch of the woodpeckers nest in the tree across the street (it’s been dead since last year). The owners had workers come out to tear down the tree; they cut off a few limbs and then left (probably because of the nesting birds). I’m sure the tree will come down sooner or later…sad
Glad to hear that the birds might have been protected — I know many arborists try to be careful (but aren’t always are successful).
I too am looking forward to you blogging with more frequency. Thanks for this one – your yard must be fabulous habitat. Birds are in short supply around the upper and middle Texas coasts.
I’m trying to train my bird ear, Marilyn — starting with my own backyard. Thank goodness the birds like it here.
My favorite woodpecker is the flicker. Not too remarkable until it flies away and you get a glimpse of the yellow wing undersides. Wow! Sounds like a monkey too. 🙂
Glad to see you back posting Meredith!
Flickers are beautiful. My parents see them at their house. Here, the Red-bellied and Downy keep us entertained, but we have evidence of sapsuckers in the neighborhood (I just haven’t spotted them yet).
We get mostly the sapsuckers near my house, but I’m not complaining. Happy to see you posting again. If you have pictures of the warblers we see in Central Texas, I’d love your “tutorial”.
Vicki, I’ve done a post or two on warblers in my yard, but I’m still learning them myself. The first thing is managing to catch a glimpse — photos are even harder!