A Patriotic Bird or Flag Bird

The 2-cent multicolored Red-Headed Woodpecker (Scott 3032) definitive was issued on February 2, 1996, in Sarasota, Florida. A coil version of the 2-cent stamp was issued in June of 1999. A series labeled as 'Flora and Fauna', the first time the Postal Service used this term. How cool that our beautiful Red Headed Friend was on a stamp!

The Red Headed Woodpecker is no longer common in the area where I live, but in a neighboring County, Bedford County, where I was born and raised there are still a few around. When my nephew Jeff emailed and said he knew where a nest was.... well.. jane and barbie had to go! We had not had an adventure since W.V. so we were ready.

The property belonging to Jeff's friend was the perfect habitat for
a nesting woodpecker. As soon as we drove up we saw him (her)
on the tippy top of a snag.

He did not give us a second look. There is a lot of activity
in the yard as there are 4 children here who run and play so
the birds are used to people

He looked like he was testing his beak on the top
of that snag... I liked how his head feathers were
all standing up like a crew cut. (click to see)

He gets his name from the bright red head. It
looks like he has a hood down to his neck. The back
is solid black and the breast pure white. What
a beauty he is.

The male and female were bringing food to the nesting
hole...They seem to be feeding insects that they catch either
on the ground or in the air. They are less likely to drill for
bugs as other woodpeckers do.

Leaning the whole way in the hole and then.....

disappearing and

poking that blood red head back out again!

Because of its striking red head and white breast,
this bird has historically been called patriotic bird,
flag bird, half-a-shirt, white shirt, shirt-tail bird
and jelly coat.

Red-headed woodpeckers are frequently killed by
vehicles while searching for food along roads and
highways.

The babies fledge in about 27 days

So there may be hope that we may yet see the babies
sticking their little heads out of the hole.

Check out My Bird Tales to see more pictures
and hear more about our adventure.

There's no mistaking that all red head when you
see one of these birds on the side of a tree.

To God be The Glory ~~ Great Things He Hath Done