[va-richmond-general] RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, EMPIDONAX SP. in Powhatan County

 
Some interesting sightings in my local  neighborhood patch this morning. 
First, we have an immature RED-HEADED  WOODPECKER excavating a significant 
hole in the limb of a sweet gum.  We  first noticed it yesterday and on closer 
examination this morning, it appears to  be a nest hole.  It's on the underside 
of a limb that projects up about 60  degrees from the horizontal.  It's an 
elongated hole, much bigger than I  would expect for a granary hole.  It seems 
pretty unusual for such a young  bird to be working on a nest hole already. 
This morning I found 2 Empidonax sp.  flycatching from the top of a dead tree 
so, primarily seen from below.   They had light colored underparts, wing 
bars, orange lower mandibles, and were  making a soft "peace" call consistent 
with 
Acadian - that's the way I have  submitted them to eBird, where it 
immediately got flagged.  The Gold Book  gives their typical last date as 
September 20 
for the Piedmont but, as late as migration seems this  year, maybe not so 
unusual. 
Wendy Ealding 
Powhatan County 





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