Lewis's Woodpecker! Wow!

The Lewis's Woodpecker inspired us to drive to Manitoulin Island in the middle of winter! The bird was first noticed on private property on January 9th and has stayed in the area ever since. It breeds in Washington and Oregon, wintering irregularly in the south and west. For some unknown reason, it headed East, much to the delight of Ontario birders!  Ontario Field Ornithologist members helped to monitor visitors by organizing a schedule. We had the 11:00-11:30 time slot on Saturday March 4th!

We were happy to hear as we exited our car that the bird was present! From a distance it can appear dark, but in good light its pink belly, gray collar, dark red face and dark green back are visible. It is slightly smaller than a Flicker.  The colours reminded me of the colours on a hummingbird!

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lewiss_Woodpecker/id 

Lewis's Woodpeckers look like a woodpecker; forage like a flycatcher; and fly like a crow. They hitch up trees in typical woodpecker fashion but also perch upright on bare branches, wires and posts. They will fly out to snatch insects in midair in long forays, much like a flycatcher.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lewiss_Woodpecker/id

After everyone had had a good look, our gracious hostess Phyllis, allowed us to wander around her large yard. Although there were several feeders in the yard, the cracked corn in the platform feeder was the food of choice for the Lewis's Woodpecker.

The cavities in the middle tree were often used by the "Star" of the backyard. According to Phyllis, the lowest hole was the nightly roosting location. The many holes higher in the tree were storage areas where it cached its food. She also witnessed it stuffing the corn kernels under the shingles of her house!

We were incredibly lucky with the weather, managing to completely avoid a storm that hit southern Ontario while we were gone! We even got to visit with good, "like-minded" friends who had also made the journey north!