As I have noticed several reported sightings in the province of Red-bellied Woodpeckers this fall, I was wondering when our turn would be? It was yesterday, (Nov. 9th) when my husband looking out the window said, "there it is!" To my query of what?, He replied , "A red-bellied woodpecker". It was peering in my neighbour's window and I clicked its picture on the window sill. ![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpNEid8pVv5Akuh5uPUNWMJMFfyY1LCVQx_pMaUxyNTIXUWFpY5yh_7MnrO-qsNPrU-R0Oef_M6WYUhMeqc9yZS3mqKol6GpeykpJlq4eRHyh_7sS9ntss7SHEeVXmc0Nz11j/s400/red+bellied+woodpecker+007.JPG)
What a beautiful bird!. Its head colour was so vibrant. After our first sighting it came to our trees in Bird Alley. It looked so beautiful as I framed the woodpecker in my camera lens, but my camera wouldn't work. My battery needed changing.Of course by the time I had replaced the battery, the woodpecker was gone! Today I shall be watching from my window for its arrival. A sighting of a Red-bellied Woodpecker is not a common occurrence in our province most years. However now and then, as is the case this year and in 2004 there has/ had been an irruption of these birds. Following are the contents of a post of mine I had created during the 2004 season:
Red-bellied Woodpeckers in 2004
This morning, while checking back on bird sightings on December 1st for other years, I came
across notes and pictures I had recorded regarding the irruption of Red-bellied Woodpeckers into the province during the fall of 2004. Listed as a 'migrant, rare but annual' by the NB Bird Records Committee the Red-bellied Wood pecker is not a frequent sighting but in 2004 they seemed to be everywhere. At our feeders we had a Red-bellied show up on Oct 31st![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1OlZnc7LU1EqSf62nqLVCA56Xwxfqjci59XRcMJWxXBRiWYoX7iy9f3jjV18eQXVEvOsK5Qc_abL7UAh-ZSDMRK2ODLK180p14Q2n839xqIU7THEzlsoFn_YQXxyCFlnPUUa/s400/redbellied+portrait.JPG)
and my last recording of its presence that year was on December 18th; this was a very pleasurable sighting to see on most days during that period. I have not seen a Red-bellied Woodpecker since December 2004 with the exception of our sighting yesterday. This morning we put out a suet feeder and yes, the woodpecker likes feeding on suet. It didn't take the woodpecker long to find it. , The two pictures directly above were taken in 2004. The Woodpecker picture below was taken at our feeders in Bird Alley this morning!![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0ru2oBCX6M1bVgmFc-MK0TrQcUVJ6PZr2dmvFQvzO4JbeBbpCfH8meHdkJGW6jBlUmzP3t7S7cApAbfHWDM08lP7995nGX06Yd8jHOEaA79tQ-j2hrUrsOK-FyRkK_afCt9b/s400/red+bellied+woodpecker.JPG)