I found this female Red-Bellied Woodpecker feeding on seed in one of the nicely stocked feeders at the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Basking Ridge, NJ on Monday, 3-9-2009. A constant rotation of several different bird species would visit the feeder in rapid succession including Black-Capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Red-Winged Blackbird, Tufted Titmouse and this Woodpecker. This was taken at the largest of the three permanent blinds on the boardwalk trail at the refuge.
During my visit I also was privileged to see Wood Ducks, Black Ducks, Canada Geese, American Widgeon, Mallards, Blue-Winged Teal, Great Blue Heron and a small contingency of White-Trailed Deer. It was my first trip to Great Swamp but certainly not my last. The boardwalk trails make this refuge very accessible for all ages and abilities and the three blinds that I was able to use (two with roofs) were niely accommodating and had the weather cooperated a little better, I’m sure they would have made a world of difference in landing some great shots of waterfowl and other birds.
For more information on the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge, visit their web site at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatswamp/. For more information on the Red-Bellied Woodpecker, visit the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology.
