02 December 2020

bird encounter

A few weeks ago- when my pole beans were still up- I was down under the deck and saw a bird flit out of the euonymus into the bean vines. I thought it was the wren, but when it came closer, hopping through the lettuces and up onto the dry clematis stems, I saw it had a dark tuft on its head, and a perkier stance- a titmouse! It came closer, hopping onto the wood bench near where I usually sit, and then up onto a pot with dried coleus I hadn't cleaned up yet. I stood very still- I was only a few feet behind the chair. It seemed to have a very large nare which I thought was odd, then it started poking its beak in the soil just inside the edge of the pot, tipped its head to look, poked again. I saw it was actually holding a large seed (the open space behind the seed was what I'd thought to be its nare). How I wish I'd had my camera in pocket. Then I must've made an involuntary movement- the bird suddenly and very quickly flew away. I keep remembering the moment though, how perfectly lively, alert and dainty the bird, how close it was.

One of the maples on the shady sideyard has always had this big dark spot on its lower trunk- looks like where a branch once came off. Now it's obviously a hole, with raw scraped edges. 
I am pretty certain an animal cleared out a cavity to live in- unless my movements nearby made it decide that's not a safe place after all and it didn't stay. It looks too small for a raccoon, so I think probably a woodpecker. But I've been watching and haven't yet seen a bird (or other animal) go in/out.
Even longer ago- many weeks now, there was a morning I looked out the kitchen window and surprised to see two birds very close- a northern flicker and a smaller woodpecker - downy or hairy?- both on the balusters of the deck where there's holes from the carpenter bees last year. They were only a few spaces apart from each other, inspecting the holes together. I did run to get my camera that time, but when I came back they were gone. Darn. It would've been a great photo, so close, and then I might have been able to identify the woodpecker.

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