This morning (November 5), a male Red-bellied Woodpecker landed in a  
tall tree off the north side of Elm Street in Norwich village and  
after a few moments flew off out of sight in a northernly direction.

The length and rather straight direction of its departing flight leads  
to a tentative suggestion that this was a transient individual rather  
than a resident bird.

My only previous find of a Red-bellied Woodpecker in this vicinity,  
along Elm Street, was in 1999. On October 17 of that year, Louis  
Bevier, who was visiting at the time, heard a Red-bellied call, but he  
and I were unable to locate the bird in a subsequent half hour of  
searching. Nearly two weeks later, on October 30, 1999, I  saw what  
was presumably that same bird which then remained in the vicinity  
until at least December 21 when I last saw it.

In recent decades this species has been undergoing a notable northward  
expansion of its range through the northeastern states.

George

George Clark
Norwich, VT

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