In recent birdwatching news...

Yesterday, on the way in to the office, I spotted a largish bird in the grass. It was brown or greyish, about the size and color of a mourning dove, but with a longer, pointier beak. Its shape reminded me of a woodpecker, but it was on the ground, not in a tree. When I got closer, I saw that it had a red spot on the back of its head, and then it flew away.

When I got home, later, I looked it up in my bird book and was able to identify it tentatively as a Northern Flicker, apparently the only Minnesota woodpecker that prefers to feed on the ground (where I saw it). The male is pretty distinctive but mine was a female. However, I'm pretty sure of the ID because the fit is perfect--it's about the same size as a mourning dove, the inset photo of the female's head was exactly right, the beak had the right shape, and of course there was the red spot. (I may doubt whether a bird is brownish or greyish, but I don't miss reds.) Fun. I am getting better at this bird identification thing.

I have no intentions of pursuing this as a full-time hobby (I have too many hobbies), but it's fun to be able to identify the birds I see in my backyard. So far I have had House Sparrows (of course), Chipping Sparrows, Goldfinches (as many as eight at a time), House Finches (I think), a Mourning Dove or two, a scattering of chickadees (not in a while), a nuthatch, at least three hummingbirds, and my favorite, an Eastern Phoebe, which was another triumph of identification. The phoebe is fun to watch because it sits there, bobbing its tail up and down like it has a nervous twitch, and then it swoops down and grabs and insect and comes back to eat. It doesn't eat birdseed, but it seems to find my shepherd's hook a handy place to perch.

The hummingbirds are still adorable. The cooler weather does not seem to be bothering them yet, but I imagine they won't be with me much longer. I plan to put up more suet feeders to console me when they're gone, in hopes of spotting a Pileated Woodpecker. That would be cool.