Postcard
Flying Lessons Postcard
A favorite woodpecker in holiday pose
We saved our best yuletide photo for the height of the holidays. We’ve always wanted to make a Christmas card with this scene of a magnificent Pileated Woodpecker picking bright red berries, as if gathering them for a wreath. We never got around to it, until now. We think it’s the perfect shot for the last in our series of bird photos with holiday connections. We came across this woodpecker near Savannah, Ga. At first, he was well up a tree, too far away for a good photo. Then he suddenly flew toward us and took up his position in a nearby berry bush. With a little luck, we caught him at just the right moment. We’re delighted to share this scene in wishing you the best in this precious time of year.

The reddest bird of all
The Summer Tanager stands out for lots of reasons, not the least of which is that the male is the only completely red bird in North America. This time of year, that earns him a place in this yuletide gallery devoted to our favorite holiday bird photos. We ran into this tanager and its greenish yellow mate this summer near Nashville, and at first knew they were near only from their distinctive songs and calls. Tanagers spent their time high in the canopy, often hidden away from birders. But we kept looking and, like unwrapping an unexpected present, we finally spotted him one day on a lower branch, as seen in this top photo. We might have been imagining it, but after a few days of hanging around them, they seemed to accept us as part of the landscape and we saw a lot of them. We’ve treasured that encounter, and the photos it gave us, the rest of the year. Here’s a post we wrote on them back in the fall.

Flying Lessons Postcard
A gift of the brightest red
We were traveling just after the holidays a few years ago when we stopped at St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge in the Florida Panhandle. The 68,000-acre preserve is one of the oldest in the country, created in 1931 for a stopover for migratory birds. But one rare bird that wasn’t supposed to be there showed up just in time to give us a post-holiday gift. We stopped to talk with the volunteers in the office before wandering the wetlands. Just as we were leaving, she said there was one more thing we should know that they generally kept to themselves to spare the bird from too many visitors. “There’s a Vermillion Flycatcher you can find at a secret spot,” she whispered, and then gave us directions, along with instructions to take only a brief look. Sure enough, moments after we arrived at a particular path, our present arrived, wrapped in the brightest red plumage we’d seen on any species. Its dark brown wings and tail set off the deep bright red that covered its front and head. The flycatcher went about its business, chasing down insects, and then stopped for a few moments on a nearby sign and looked us up and down. OK, it seemed to say, that’s enough. Off we went with a precious encounter we won’t ever forget.
Flying Lessons Postcards are short takes on birds of the season. Each week in December, we’re featuring a favorite photo of a bird with a connection to the holidays.

Flying Lessons Postcard
A bird made for the holidays
This Northern Cardinal kicks off our holiday photo series this week, celebrating the season with some of our favorite scenes. Unlike about 40 percent of the species that abandon us for warmer climates this time of year, the cardinal sticks with us through the winter. Its bright red plumage seems made for the holidays, particular when surrounded by greenery. Each week, we’ll post a photo and a few thoughts to share on the special lessons that birds have for us during the holidays. We love how this male cardinal strikes his stately pose in the top photo and then takes flight in this secondary photo, its wings nearly translucent in the light.
