I should have known that yesterday would be a good birding day when one of the Great Horned Owl parents visited my yard at 3 am and hooted away for over 15 minutes. With my windows open I often awake to hooting, and then quickly fall back asleep. It is truly relaxing.

I decided if the parents were willing to visit me, I should be sociable in turn. Shortly before sunset I hiked over to the nest and the owlets were showing they were siblings who would friends forever!

Once I walked home, I thought my birding was done, but with the last light of day a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker visited one of the three prime drumming trees in my yard. In total, yesterday all of these woodpecker species took a turn at drumming on the tree. I’m getting pretty good at knowing which species is visiting based upon the syncopation  of the beat. My drumming tree visits were from:

• Downy Woodpeckers
• Hairy Woodpeckers
• Northern Flicker (seems to be a favorite catch for my owls)
• Pileated Woodpeckers
• Red-Bellied Woodpeckers
• Yellow-Bellied Woodpeckers (pictured below)