We found the first thing about the weather that Zip does not like: rain. When it rains, he disappears into the barn and out of sight. He doesn’t want to get wet. Yet during Sunday’s colossal storm, he ran around in the snow all day, and his fur was quite wet when I touched it.
But he doesn’t like water coming down on him and disappears. He’s back out and running his kingdom this morning. He also doesn’t like that I’m late for or skip morning appointments. He starts to glower into the window. Otherwise, he seems to need to notice the weather or temperature.
If the sun is out, he naps on the back porch. If it isn’t out, he picks another spot.
Today, I’m heading out again to get a gun, something I need to have on a farm. I’ve needed more than once to put down suffering animals or rabbits. The woodpecker below looked at me and stood his ground. He seems fearless.
We think it’s a red-breasted woodpecker. Please let me know if that’s true or not.
The smaller birds are getting used to me; they don’t bother to fly away.
My Calla Lily bowl flowers will be planted in my raised garden bed. I’m addicted to them.
I believe it is a red-bellied woodpecker https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker/id#
All respect, the bird is a Common Flicker.
Good, no disrespect to me. The truth is always good. Several people have messaged me to say they are sure it’s a red-breasted woodpecker. I have no idea myself.
It’s definitely a red breasted woodpecker.
Flicker are more colorful
Yes, here in WA state they are Flickers! They are in the woodpecker family though!
It is a male red bellied woodpecker often confused with the flicker. I have them at my feeders too. Definitely NOT a flicker.
Yep, the first person was right. Red BELLIED Woodpecker. I always hear them before I see them because they’re pretty noisy.
Your lily could be deadly to cats. They are beautiful but not safe with cats and some dogs.
We’ve had lilies and cats for many years, have no trouble with our cats or dogs.
I agree with the other Barbara. It’s a red-bellied woodpecker. We see them frequently in our yard.
No disrespect I agree with Barbara, that is a Red-bellied Woodpecker, not a Northern Flicker. Flickers are brown, beige, and black with a spotted chest, with a red strip on the cheek, not the head and neck, and a black triangle under the chin top of chest.
Red-bellied woodpecker for sure. I get them all the time at my windowsill, generations of them over several decades; in a month or two, I’ll get a parent with the juvenile in tow, passing down the inherited feeding station information. Never yet laid eyes on a Common Flicker, but have seen the Northern Flicker a quarter mile down the hill, closer to the reservoir, likely not just for the proximity to water source but also denser, more diverse tree cover selection for habitat. The pileated woodpecker used to fly up from there occasionally looking more for insects in the trees between the houses up here in the hill than any seeds at my sill, and I enjoyed watching them too – until the utility company had many of the trees cut down. In one instance, I witnessed several crows successively arrive and land in the top of a nearby, as yet unthreatened, tree and watch the removal of one their most frequently used vantage points. Sometimes, crows make me feel of inferior intelligence……
Yes, Jon. Sometimes names can be confusing. This is called a red-bellied woodpecker. As someone mentioned this is a male. The red on the female’s head does not go all the way to her beak as it does with the male. Otherwide there isn’t much difference. The Cornell Lav of Orinthology has a free app called Merlin. https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ You can take a photo, submit it and Merlin will identify it for you.
Thanks, Jill; I have that app but have yet to use it. I don’t need to do that. I like learning about them as I go along, and the last thing I want to do while outside taking photos is search on yet another app. I’ll pick it up as I go, or not at all. It just isn’t essential to me, and I appreciate the thought. I don’t care much about the names; I like the colors.
good photo, and interesting identification from your readers…..I see you have as many bird lovers as you do flower lovers! I’ve never seen a red bellied woodpecker in my life…..they are primarily eastern birds from what I can gather. We have about 6 species of woodpeckers here…..but the red bellied is not one of them. I knew, though….that it was NOT a Flicker! Of that, I was certain. Always learn something new when reading your posts and comments!
Susan M
Totally agree it is red bellied woodpecker. I volunteer at a place called Wild and free in MN, we raised one last year and set it free. They love oranges!
Our Samoyed felt the same way about rain that Zip seems to. She could lie out in a snowstorm, cheerfully content to let 3 or 4 inches cover her before she bothered to shake herself off. But rain?!? As she aged and sometimes refused to go outside for a walk in a downpour, we bought her a red raincoat. She looked absurd, so did I in my red raincoat, but we managed to leave the house and get some exercise. (I don’t recommend trying this with Zip!)