Continuing the wintry weather, the backyard go thoroughly soaked, though it was much warmer. It is about the same as the previous four winters we’ve lived here, but this has surely been the most enjoyable.

I do wonder, though, where all the wild life goes when it is this soggy out. The raccoon and deer as well as the birds. The ducks seem ok with it. They move off the surface of the water, but not far from it, and when the rain goes away they come out and go hunting. O

One of the great things about this 30 day challenge is that I am actually learning about the habits of birds enough to predict their behaviour. I can pretty reliably catch the Eastern blue bird well enough to photograph, and I’m getting better at the Eastern phoebe.

But the one I’m most pleased by is the red bellied woodpecker. I have caught it several times, mostly accidentally. While I still don’t have the equipment to capture it’s fast moving head in a still, I can now find it and somewhat predict how far it will fly once it moves. So the camera can refind it. This is a most attractive bird, so I enjoy just watching it.

Ten thousand birds do seem to be quite a few, so it is not surprising that the ones I record here are not uncommon. However, it is hard to absorb that such extraordinary looking creatures are not rare. This is one of three woodpeckers that I see around here. And believe it or not, I didn’t know there was more than one kind in the world. Growing up, I assumed a woodpecker was one particular bird, and not one of a set. I also thought of them as a mostly black bird. Imagine my amazement at finding them so dramatically colorful and also of more than one species.

Another commoner is the bird that posed in front of me a couple days ago. Today, he flew up into the maple tree while it was still drizzling and stood there long enough for me to get a video of him. So, now, photographic evidence of the blue gray gnatcatcher’s presence in the backyard.