Red-bellied Woodpecker Excavating Nest Hole

Things are really picking up around our yard. Spring is here at last!

For those new to birding, the name of the Red-bellied Woodpecker makes little sense - the bird's belly does have a red tint to it, but why don't we call it the Red-headed Woodpecker? Turns out that name is taken.

I captured the video below this week. It shows a male Red-bellied excavating a nest hole in a Norway Maple I have left standing in our yard for no other reason than to feed and house woodpeckers. The blue-gray bird with a white face and black cap investigating the hole is another cavity nester, the White-breasted Nuthatch. Looks like he is doing some drive-by house shopping.

Comments

[Sue Sehulster]

Now I can't tear Aidan away from your site -- he's hooked on nature footage! He particular enjoyed the woodpeckers, complete with some "Mystery Science Theater"-esque commentary along the way, which was very fun. At age 4, he understands my bookmarks so I have a feeling he'll be a frequent visitor to your site. Great birds!

[sefraser]

That's so cool he enjoyed it!

Today I was trying to capture some footage of some Oriole's nesting. Nothing mixed down yet.

If he wants to see more, just look at my biology related posts:

http://fraser.blogs.com/pcl/biology/index.html

The starlings video I made is worth watching (this is the original without music):

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6815781973393100875

He might also like the hummingbird and gnatcatcher nest building videos, they are in the list above on the bilogy posts.