Lewis's Woodpecker Archives - Window to Wildlife

I made the run up to Trempealeau County early am with hopes to see the reported Lewis’s Woodpecker. I left in darkness, arrived in darkness. After some light arrived, so did the woodpeckers. Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and then the beautiful male Lewis’s Woodpecker! This Lewis’s should be the 4th state record for Wisconsin if I am correct. Its normal range is Colorado and west, what an exciting bird to have show up in Wisconsin. They did not waste anytime, all the woodpeckers were active most of the time I was there. The Lewis’s pretty much stayed in about 1 acre of the front yard at the home. On 2 occasions it flew north and south what appeared to be long distances but returned. Dan B showed up after awhile and the Lewis’s gave nice views but remained higher in branched trees. Daryl showed up, the bird was active for a while but left the area for about 45 minutes and did not return, I headed for home. The bird only hit the suet feeder once while we were there, and it was a split second. We gave this bird plenty of space. One sometimes wonders how these birds are found. Amanda the mother told me that Isaiah the son found the bird, the daughter Zaila identified the bird immediately. Great find Isaiah, great ID Zaila! Zaila is a birder working on a life list etc, congrats to all of them. I hope I got this information correct. The bird was found this last Sunday. A big thank you to Amanda the mother, the outstanding host for all the birders who have showed up and to all the family for letting others come see this rare bird that is visiting in their yard. Thanks too, to everyone that has kept updates on this bird and excellent directions to the location. A life bird for me and a cool one at that. It was a very fun morning for all of us on a beautiful late November day! Hope the bird hangs around for others to see. Images were taken on November 24, 2015. UPDATE: To my understanding, the Lewis’s Woodpecker was still being seen as of Friday February 5, 2016.