January 7 2019. Hendrie valley, Burlington, ON. Winter has not yet wrapped its arms around us in a full embrace; warmth slipped in today, mild enough that I walked the length of my favourite valley hatless, gloveless and with coat unbuttoned, I was enjoying the birds who are the mainstay species of the valley: Mallards, Trumpeter Swans, Carolina and Winter Wrens, White-throated, Song and American Tree Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Hairy, Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches, a Belted Kingfisher and Black-capped Chickadees. Just the local gang hanging out and making the most of easy-to-find food.
There was no Bird of the Day, just plenty to see and enjoy. A single Winter Wren chattering quietly to itself and creeping along parallel to a well-travelled, creekside, path but managing to stay out of sight in the thick waterside tangles. Several Carolina Wrens singing, some more forcefully than others, but none as determined to establish his territorial claim as this one.
I think it was a couple of pairs of woodpeckers that were most interesting to watch. They had found an apparently easy supply of grubs in the folds and flakes of the bark of American Sycamore trees. This female Hairy Woodpecker..
..and this male Red-bellied Woodpecker revealing, albeit coyly, why the species is called red-bellied and not red-headed. You can just make out the blush of red on its underside.
In all likelihood the ‘red-bellied’ descriptor was applied by a nineteenth century zoologist holding in his hand a specimen collected by shooting, and in any case, perhaps ‘red-headed’ had already been taken.
