Apologies in advance on all the bird threads. There must be a few bird lovers here though so this is for you.

On Tuesday I went back to the reserve in Lakeland. Every time I go there I think I've seen all there is to see and every time I'm pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. But Tuesday was the best so far.

As a bird watcher, I have a list of birds I've never seen but hope to see. #3 is a bird called a roseate spoonbill. I've seen them in captivity but never in the wild. #2 is a painted bunting. I've never seen one of those anywhere.

The #1 bird on my list is the pileated woodpecker. It's huge! Up to 19 inches long, about the size of a crow, and it has a red comb on its head. Supposedly it was the model for Woody Woodpecker.

So I had walked around the park for a while and I started hearing a loud tapping. It seemed to be off a ways but a few seconds later I heard it again and it was much closer. At first I was looking off in the distance but then I focused on the trees that were closer, about 60 feet away or so, and there was Woody right in front of me!



What an amzing sight! He was flying from tree to tree and sticking to the vertical trunks like he had glue on his feet.





I was able to observe him for at least 15 minutes until he finally took off and flew out of view.



I just received a new pair of binoculars. My old pair was 40 years old! What a difference in the quality. Now I can't wait to go back there and see what else I can find. Maybe early Saturday morning.

One more item, one of the baby sandhill cranes was there. It's growing up quick. It's about 2 months old now and you can already see feathers starting to form.

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Very Cool. Love the Woodpecker. "Ha-ha-ha-HAA-ha!"

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

Thank you for sharing. You're really getting some great shots.

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"Dance like no one is watching."

We sometimes get a "woody" here too. They are fun to watch.

In our old house, we had one that would go to a blind spot on the back corner of the house. He had carved three very round holes in the siding before he moved on. I would hear the pounding, but it took me a while to figure out what was happening. We never had a bug infestation there, so I think he was trying to attract a mate. Luckily he must have succeeded before he totally destroyed the siding. Nothing more persistent than a randy woody. lol...

This has been quite a week. I was going to the mall in Lakeland this morning. On the way is a large lake, Lake Parker, and I got to see another bird that's on my want to see but never have seen list. Actually, for this bird, it was have never seen in the wild. I've seen these at both Disney and Sea World. It's a Roseate Spoonbill.



One other thing I saw up in the sky today.... The space shuttle Atlantis. This was taken from my backyard.





Fun times!

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Wow. I love the pink bird. He looks like a living cartoon.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

As always Virgo simply beautiful pictures tia for sharing with all us.. Peace. catheirne