northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's another Belted Kingfisher I met extremely late last fall. I've shown these guys before , and although it's easy to "encounter" these birds (a fleeting look at a fleeing bird, a long distance look across water, or hearing their trilling call), getting recognizable pictures is a less reliable endeavor. People will sometimes try and get one of the birds they see identified though their descriptions match nothing in the area (or maybe nothing on the planet). A sighting of a "blue woodpecker" is an example of that. What could the bird have been? If it's a bird poking around on a tree, a Red-breasted Nuthatch  or a White-breasted Nuthatch are strong candidates. Though more of a bluish-gray than a conventional blue, they navigate tree trunks adroitly like woodpeckers, and they are looking for insect food up there. A Blue Jay might store food like acorns in a tree for eating later in the season and are happy enough to eat insects on trees if they f...