And the story goes ...

19 & 23 April 2007: We're parked in Timberline RV Park in Waukee, Iowa near Des Moines. There are some very fine old trees in this park including catalpa trees whose seed pods are being pushed to the ground by their budding spring flowers. The owner of the park is burning some of these seedpods today as they do litter the ground and will kill the grass.

I have been identifying many backyard birds including this male downy woodpecker. He has been busy chipping out a hole for a future nest. In this photo, you can see him flicking a chip of wood out of the nesting hole with his beak.

Today, this hole is big enough that he disappears down in it. He is still chipping out the hole to make it deeper for the eggs and female. I'll keep checking on the progress of this bird's new residence and plans for a future family over the next few weeks. Click on the image to view photos of more backyard birds in our online gallery hosted by Smugmug.