The Knot

I have such a good view of the birds from my living room.  This time of year is especially wonderful with the Baltimore Orioles, Rose Breasted Grosbeaks and many others.

The woodpeckers have been here all winter, and they are repetitive in some of their work.  One of my maple trees has a knot hole that gets a lot of work.

For a couple of years now, I have watched the woodpeckers busy themselves at this knot.

Are they cracking a seed?  Retrieving a seed that was stashed there?  Drilling for sap? or maybe drilling for bugs?  I'm not sure, but daily, one or more of the woodpeckers, Downy or Hairy, will spend some time at The Knot.

Working at The Knot.

Maybe it is like a corner tavern, someplace familiar to the birds, and for whatever purpose it serves, it does a pretty good business.

 A couple of regulars, much to my delight, are a cardinal pair.

It's not usual for me to see them in the light of day, normally they feed at dusk and dawn, so I'm happy to snap their family photo for them.

And of course love is in the air.

The robins are doing the dance.

I normally like to give a romantic couple their privacy, but these two were really acting up.

I hope they have a nest built in the yard somewhere.

It looks to me like they have tied the knot.