Glanced out my window to see a dark shape at the suet feeder, and assumed it was a grackle. Instead, it was a bird I’d never seen before: a Lewis’s Woodpecker.
Here’s the one photo I snapped before s/he flew across the yard:
I ran to the other end of the house and took this photo from my standing-desk window:
Such a delightful start to this day. As Tom Robbins wrote in Still Life with Woodpecker: “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.”
Tracy Abell 
Nice capture. I have never seen this bird before either.
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I’m glad I could share the experience with you! It’s always such a treat to see a brand-new-to-me bird. Thanks so much for stopping by.
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Did you tell him any knock-knock jokes?
He’s very special. Thanks for sharing him with us. (I’m sure it’s a male because of his gaudy colouring. 😉 )
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I didn’t think to tell him a knock-knock joke. Darn!
I was thinking same as you, that it had to be a male because of the coloring, but it turns out males and females have same coloring. A rare instance of color equality in the bird world. 🙂
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I’ve never seen one of those in the wild either!
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I’m really glad I was able to capture a photo because it seems many people have never seen this lovely bird. All hail Lewis’s Woodpeckers!
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