First I heard the woodpeckers. As I said in a previous post, Crane Creek Park was very quiet, and the steady rapid-fire knocking of the birds as they drilled holes carried to me from the clump of trees by the creek.
A little further on, I found evidence of their work, here. Then, there they were, both of them. I didn’t get a good angle to see if the male had a patch of red on its head; so I’m not sure what variety of woodpecker they are.
This is the mystery bird. I think it’s a female kestrel. Here’s a picture of a kestrel. The same?
It wasn’t very nervous. It watched me fiddle with my camera and take numerous pictures for several minutes before flying away—across the path to another tree.
There were a number of seed-eaters; some chickadees, including the chestnut-backed chickadees I see at the feeder in the yard, and a variety of sparrow I didn’t recognize. I heard, but did not see a pair of ravens calling and knocking, and several doves. I saw an egret across the road from the park, but could not get a good picture.
When I come back in the spring I am bringing a bird book as well as a wildflower guide, for sure.