Nature In My Yard

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius sap wells on Norway Spruce, Picea abies

Sapsuckers are small woodpeckers that primarily feed on tree sap, as well as the insects attracted to (and stuck in) the sap. They are bigger than a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) and smaller than a Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus).

This was the first time I had seen one in my yard.

Mourning Dove feathers in the snow,  Zenaida macroura

There is the food we put out for the birds, and then there is the food that is the birds. A Mourning Dove became supper for a Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) just off my front porch. When it saw me at the door the hawk took off, meal in tow. A reminder to us all that death is a part of life.