We have a couple of Red-bellied Woodpeckers who frequent our yard looking for some goodies. Once in while they will resort to the bird feeder or suet feeder, but most often they love to scavenge the ground underneath looking for little morsels left by the other birds.
This little guy had flown way up high on the tree. Beautiful bird, don’t you think? It’s funny how he’s called a Red-bellied Woodpecker when the red is on his head, not his belly!
While it was such a treat to see that the Piping Plovers were back for the summer, it was even more of a treat to see them courting on the sand. “The male approaches the female, stands upright with neck stretched, and rapidly stamps his feet with an odd “high-stepping gait.” (Click on blog link for more photos.)
It was so cool to watch the two of them. And then the female settled down in the sand where I presume their nest would be. Maybe we’ll go back today and see what’s going on. We’d never seen that ritual before. Have you?
In the last photograph, you can hardly see where she is nesting in the sand.
We saw our first Piping Plovers of the season yesterday at Coast Guard Beach. What a treat! I was hoping they might be back! It was a glorious day for a walk on the beach… sunny and in the 50s, just perfect!
We noticed that all of the stakes and string was up all the way down the beach to deter people from disturbing the Piping Plovers nests and behaviors. It wasn’t until we heard their distinct sound of the “courtship whistle” that we saw them up high on the beach in the sand.
Stop by tomorrow to see more photos and a cool story!
Many mornings when it is still cold outside, I will look up high in the trees and see the Bluebirds perched up there trying to get the first warmth from the sun before it gets lower in the yard. It’s the only place where there is any sun at that hour and, lucky for me, the leaves haven’t come out yet so I can still see them!
