BIRD OF THE WEEK - Week Eight (DOWNY WOODPECKER)

I must apologize.  Much to my chagrin, last weekend came and went much too quickly and it was not until Tuesday that I realized I forgot to post Bird of the Week!  That did not stop the birds from singing though.  I think I hear all the birds from the past seven weeks each and every day.  The bird I was planning to feature next was the Northern Mockingbird, however, I see many of them, but I don't hear them singing!  What's up with that?  So in the meantime, we will cover the Downy Woodpecker.  If you are not familiar with his song, you probably have heard it often and just didn't give it much thought.  You can pretty much see a Downy just about anywhere.  Always in the woods, but also in neighborhoods.  If you have a suet feeder, they are frequent visitors.  They have a whinny rather than a song.  It is a rapid whinny of notes that descend in pitch.  Their call note is a flat pick.  Of course, it is much easier to listen to it than to try to describe their sound, so here is the link:  www.enature.com/birding/audio.asp.  Under Tree-Clinging Birds click Woodpeckers.  Go to page 2 and click on Downy Woodpecker.  So "keep your ear to the ground," as they say, or perhaps, "keep your ear to the air."  In any case, be well and bird well!