Another Juvenile Appearance

This weekend saw the debut of another 2010 juvenile, this one being our long-awaited Red Bellied Woodpecker. I suspected this youngster existed based on the frenzied feeder traffic of the adult birds. As usual, the RBW baby is a bit on the awkward side in appearance, looking more like an albino buzzard than anything else. But Junior RBW is doing it on its own: I didn't see any begging behavior, and the bird seemed able to handle the suet feeder. This bird brings us to nine confirmed fledgling species at the feeders, which is a record for me. (And in a late news flash, I've realized we had two separate Northern Cardinal fledges, which I have also not experienced previously.) So it has been quite the feeder circus of late, with all these new visitors and their parents. You have to love it!