[Bristol-Birds] Creeping Hairy

I had a rarity for yard birds yesterday. I heard a Hairy Woodpecker pinking, 
but when I looked up the first bird I saw was a Brown Creeper going up a walnut 
tree. I later located the Hairy on the other side of a tree above him. Haven't 
had either in the yard for several years, and now both at once and without 
binoculars. 
I normally don't get HAWP unless the borer bees have been active on the gate 
and the Hairy comes along and decides to dig out a six-inch channel to locate 
the larvae. Of course people with shake siding who don't treat it for borer 
bees then get upset with the woodpecker when he does this. 
Another feeding frenzy to watch for in the next six weeks is when your peonies 
are about to bloom. Big black ants crawling all over the buds are a necessary 
synergy for the buds to open, and that can bring a Great Crested Flycatcher 
down for an ant feast for him and a  close and personal look for you. Watch for 
it. 
I'm not sure what ants do to help the peony to burst from its bud, whether they 
chomp on the bud case or lap up some sweet exudescence that is keeping them 
sealed (I'm betting on the latter). Was anybody out there awake during botany? 

James Brooks 
Bear Run
Washington County


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