I saw where he had bored
several maples in the vicinity, but no oaks or chestnuts. I nailed up
a fat bone near his sap-works: the downy woodpecker came there several
times a day to dine; the nut-hatch came, and even the snow-bird took a
taste occasionally; but this sap-sucker never touched it; the sweet of
the tree sufficed for him. This woodpecker does not breed or abound in
my vicinity; only stray specimens are now and then to be met with in
the colder months. As spring approached, the one I refer to took his
departure.
I must bring my account of my neighbor in the tree down to the latest
date; so after the lapse of a year I add the following notes. The last
day of February was bright and springlike. I heard the first sparrow
sing that morning and the first screaming of the circling hawks,
and about seven o'clock the first drumming of my little friend.
His first notes were uncertain and at long intervals, but by and by he
warmed up and beat a lively tattoo. As the season advanced he ceased
to lodge in his old quarters.
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