Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Lineated Woodpecker

Today a picture of a yard bird that's neither a raptor nor a migrant, but a spectacular resident: Lineated Woodpecker. In Chichicaxtle, in the yard of the house where the counters are housed this year, stands a dead palm tree trunk with a few woodpecker holes in it. Several times we have seen this bird - a male Lineated Woodpecker - perched on that tree. This is one of three woodpecker species that are commonly found in and around Chichicaxtle, the other two being Golden-fronted Woodpecker and Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

Bird migration is definitely underway here in Veracruz, with each day good flights of Orchard Orioles, the first Eastern Kingbirds, the first Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and waterbirds such as White and White-faced Ibis, Anhinga, and Wood Stork. Kites continue to migrate in (relatively) small numbers, and we've also seen a few Zone-tailed Hawks and Ospreys. Again an immature Snail Kite flew over Cardel today, possibly the same (resident) individual as a few days ago.

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