A QUICK POSE

This female red-bellied woodpecker was meant to be my blip today, even though I posted her just five days ago. This day was full of one thing after another with no time to even think about what to blip. After our company left, I went outside to accomplish a bit more of the fall cleanup. I set my camera on the deck – just in case! Suddenly there was a cardinal at the feeder – I hurried to set the camera, and by the time it was ready, this woodpecker had taken the place of the cardinal – all within 10 seconds! She held this perfect pose for all of 3 seconds, and flew off. After that there wasn’t any other blip-oriented activity, so I figure this little lady was destined for stardom today. (The touch of red on the leaves goes nicely with her red head feathers.)

I also discovered where these birds get their name. I was snapping another quick shot as she took off and saw that her lower belly is indeed a pinkish red. The angle of the shot was rather immodest unattractive, so I’ll post this shot instead - but I see now that the name is quite appropriate.