The Elusive Zebra Parrot

It’s funny the way children look at the world. Our niece Violet has labeled our early morning gutter checker a Zebra Parrot, which is a slightly more accurate name for the Red-bellied Woodpecker. This woodpecker is one of the medium sized birds we see consistently in our yard, and is always on the hunt for more food. Although, I question how effective his/her hunting skills are when they try and peck through our metal gutters to no avail. I guess it’s just more annoying than anything else. We do love to watch them hang sideways or even upside down on a branch, or on our barn in order to explore new cracks and crevices for a meal. They are also a big fan of sunflower seeds from our feeder which allows us to see them very close up. I’m not sure if this one found anything tasty on our barn this time, but I’m sure we’ll be reminded of the red-bellied woodpecker’s tenacity the next time we hear feverish tapping on our gutters.