Another New Arrival

by Cindy ~ March 30, 2007

Our first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has made his appearance today. Yet another bird that I have a special fondness for.. they have such a plaintive cry and one year I had a beautiful female that would follow me around the property, sometimes within 5 feet of me and it was obvious she was not only curious but trying to get my attention. (They become quite vocal if their grape jelly dishes are empty and they also LOVE orange halves). I never quite understood why this particular sapsucker followed me around, but by their nature they’re quite approachable as a rule.. and that cry of theirs just touches my heart, sounding almost like a baby in distress, with a descending awahhh.

Last year a male staked out our NWF sign to tap on- he beat that poor sign silly! Soon all of the woodpecker tribe will be tapping and pounding on our chimney cap, the no trespassing signs out on neighboring property, metal mailboxes out by the road and pretty much anything that will make a LOUD noise, trying to entice a mate to their head banging. We have many standing deadfall trees, but when it comes to making noise, they prefer metal. At it’s peak, our property will sound like there is heavy construction going on.. and in a way there is. Instead of a sign that says ‘Bird Crossing’ I need one that states ‘Woodpeckers at Work!’

Along with the sapsucker, our first female Red-winged Blackbirds have arrived. I may as well get used to them because they no longer keep flying north and within weeks we’ll have 100’s of them here. But that’s ok. Bird-song tends to attract other birds since they’re curious creatures, and we already have plenty of songs filling the air. By May it will be non-stop birdsong from dawn until dusk with many more neotrops that nest here joining in the chorus.. from the loud brash territorial konk-la-reees of the many redwings to the sweet squeaky door bay-beee notes of American Goldfinch. They’re all quite welcome here and I’ve waited months to hear each one.