This
morning, I was submitting a late eBird report for the 18th of November;
American Goldfinch, Chickadee, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Gray Jay, Dark-eyed
Junco... As I pressed on the submit button, I couldn't help feeling a little
disappointed: with the arrival of winter, the sighting lists are getting
shorter. So I was thinking "I'm just starting this bird discovery adventure thing and I don't want to slow down now… spring is so far away. From now on, the daylight
starts disappearing at 4h30pm, the snow is pilling and the freezing
temperatures are turning our fingers blue... and there's going to be less opportunities to see
new bird species…"
And then, I
turned around and everything changed.
 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker / Pic à ventre roux South Porcupine, ON (22 Nov 2013) |
Right there
in front of me, in our big spruce tree.
At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me (because I was just
thinking about putting my life list away until spring... and things don't usually
happen that way in real life!) A Red-bellied Woodpecker in South Porcupine on a
snowy cold November morning. Luckily, my
camera was right next to me. I watched this beautiful bird for as long as I
could. It stayed there for about
10 short minutes.
I know this
bird is common in the South of the province but not here in the North! ... I was really excited about
this find for 3 reasons: a) I never thought I would see a Red-bellied
Woodpecker here. b) I get very excited every
time I see a bird…any bird. c) I get even more excited
when I see a bird for the first time.
 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker / Pic à ventre roux South Porcupine (22 Nov 2013) |
The
Red-bellied Woodpecker's normal range is the South East of North-America (Southern
Ontario and Eastern United-States.)
According to the data on eBird, there's only one record of this bird in
the district of Cochrane (in Moosonee, 1983).
Other than that, there's a Red-bellied Woodpecker that was sighted in Englehart,
(Timiskaming district) from March to May of 2012. It certainly doesn't mean that Red-bellied
Woodpeckers were not spotted here... it just means that they weren't
reported. What an
unforgettable sight.
So if you live in the area, hang your suet and keep an eye out for this striking bird.
