Late this afternoon I had just started my descent from a ridge top (Thornton
Creek, Lincoln County) when a black, big-headed, chunky-bodied, short-tailed
bird flew from a maple, crossed through the open sky about sixty feet away and
forty feet above me, and landed in an upright position in another tree about
one hundred feet further up the ridge. Since I had no optics (it isn't always
convenient to carry them when I am working) I had no choice but to try to sneak
closer. But before long the bird flew again, nearly straight away from me, This
time it was about twenty feet above me, flying through some trees. The entire
upperparts looked solid black. The flight pattern was flap, glide, flap with
undulating forward progress. I really think it was a Black-backed, Woodpecker,
but there is no way I can be sure of it. If so, it wouldn't be the first to be
recorded in the county. Another one was seen by a different observer fairly
close to Toledo in 1996.
Darrel
