Losing My Religion to the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

[Celebration]

Losing My Religion to the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

This time I actually recommend that you go to my blog if you have the time, because I made what I feel is a really good slideshow on the process that I used to get the photos. Also there is some subtle and not so subtle social commentary on the state of our parks here, and not going to church on Sunday! I think I might even crosspost in the religion group. And who isn't an R.E.M. fan? But here is a photo anyway--

[Solly Mack]

1. What a fantastic shot of that evil bird!! :)

Mine moved - I dunno where. Winter's over and LA. is a winter stop for the bird. I should go back to the golf course, since there were several there. Maybe some still are...


It is a woodpecker though. I swear!

[Celebration]

2. oh really? I thought woodpeckers ate insects!

They do seem awfully damaging, in any case.................

As you can see if you looked at the video, I had to take a ton of photos just to get a couple of decent ones.

I'm no bird species expert!! Definitely know a bluebird from a bluejay, though.

[Solly Mack]

3. It is a species of woodpecker. One of several different genus/species in the family.

They will eat the bugs (sometimes) but their main diet is sap. They'll even go for a hummingbird feeder to get the nectar. (and fruit, if you leave some out)

I read up on them while trying to get a decent shot of the one that fed in the trees at the back of my house.

You're so lucky that they're breeding in your area! I may have to wait until fall to get another shot at one.

I enjoyed your video. It made me smile.

I'm no expert - but I did read a lot about that evil bird. lol Damn evil bird.

[Celebration]

4. Did you find yourself circling trees over and over when you tried to get photos?

I kept circling the tree and couldn't keep up! If so, did they always go clockwise? Strange!! I think I'll change my blogpost so it will be more accurate about the species, or issue a correction.

[Solly Mack]

5. I would repeatedly circle a tree in hopes of getting a shot.

Yes! He did always seem to go clockwise!

I would set up near the spot he liked best (at my house) and keep myself low and hidden against a green wall. He would often land on the lower part of the tree trunk, peek around to see if I was there, and then fly up to his favorite branch. I'd just laugh (even as I called him names). It was a game.

No matter where I was trying to get a photo - the house or the golf course - they always circled the tree and hid behind branches.

They favored the sweet-gums on the golf course.

Damn evil birds.

[Celebration]

6. LOL

And to think some people don't recognize this as being FUN.

And you saw the mud around my bird's tree!

[Solly Mack]

7. Heh! True, true. Yet it is great fun!

The hummingbirds are back, so I have something to keep me busy until the return of the evil bird.

An Inca Dove showed up in my yard yesterday. I was thrilled.

[alfredo]

8. I really like your slide show.

[Celebration]

9. Thanks!

I love making slideshows, and I definitely take Audubon Park seriously (five minutes away from me, and far overshadowed by the amazing Shelby Farms). So it was my tribute to the place, and what it once was.

[alfredo]

10. Maybe a citizens group can have a park clean up day.

Check out what the local citizens do at Radnor lake in Nashville.

[Celebration]

11. it would take a lot of paint!

I didn't even show stuff like all the painted tree trunks. Not sure what you would do about that. Repaint them brown or something? I'm also not sure I would want to stick my hand in that hollow tree trunk.

One issue is that a few years ago they gave half the lake to the Botanic Gardens. So now you can't even walk around the whole lake, just half the lake. That has made it a relatively less attractive park for some people. People who are really into parks just drive the extra five minutes to go to Shelby Farms.

Another issue is the Cancer Survivor's Park there, which is small, but has expensive sculptures and places to sit. It is relatively new, but it is a complete mess now. No there isn't graffiti, but it needs a full time gardener because of the various plantings. I don't know what the story there is, or who is supposed to keep it up. It is supposed to be a nice quiet place to reflect if someone has cancer or has lost someone to cancer, has relatives with cancer, or just wants to think about cancer I guess. I never totally understood the concept to begin with. But think of nice, new, expensive, cool sculptures all around, and a "garden" that was meant not to be wildflowers, but to be tended, and.............it's not! It should have been planted with low maintenance stuff, or not at all. I don't even think I want to find out what is behind all this. It is about a hundred yards away from the lake. If I had made the slideshow all about the park I would have had to show a bunch more stuff like this. I promise volunteers could never be able to do all the gardening needed for that.

[alfredo]

12. Our local arboretum has hundreds of volunteers, but that is because it has powerful friends.

It started as a University arboretum, now it is the official botanical gardens of Kentucky. That not only brought in money, it brought in expertise. Some of that expertise was in organizing the community to help maintain the grounds. My brother in law is one of the master gardeners volunteering at the arboretum.

[Celebration]

13. oh, so pretty

The Botanic Gardens here has volunteers, but they have the staff to organize the efforts, recruit them, etc. Shelby Farms gets tons of volunteers to plant trees, etc. But Audubon is run by the city. 'Nuff said!

[alfredo]

14. We have McConnell Springs. It is run by the city, but it has citizen volunteers.

[alfredo]

15. I saw one yesterday.

[Celebration]

16. Cool, any photos? n/t

[alfredo]

17. Nothing with showing.