Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I haven't seen my red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) since I got back from Boston. Readers may be shocked about this, but I actually miss him. Now, it may be just because I haven't heard his incessant banging for a couple of months, but one has to agree that when he's around, he constantly reminds me that I'm not alone. Like most company, I don't always appreciate it at the time. He has, however, provoked me into shouting more profanity than I have at most visitors.

One added benefit of having an obsessed woodpecker around the house is that he normally keeps my windows free of old spider webs and half-eaten bugs. Several of my great room windows are looking somewhat icky at the moment.

I was going to upload a 74MB video of him, but it kept timing out.

Last year, he also disappeared for a few months late in the summer and early fall, so I am optimistic that he'll return. Strangely enough, I've seen several female red-bellied woodpeckers around, usually eating seeds that I've put out on the deck rail, but I can't recall seeing any males.