Still having captured that “shot” I desire of the Lewis’s Woodpecker, I’ve been spending hours in the morning in the hide. Not until the light & heat drive me out do I stop for the day. This morning, it was a bit different. It started with overcast skies keeping the temps down. Normally, that promotes more bird activity. Not today though, it wasn’t for a whole hour, not a single bird. Then the Magpie came in and the saturated light lit up its back and tail so I shot. When I turned back to the wookpecker perch, there was the Lewis looking right at me. It seemed like he was saying, “Thought you were here for me?!”

Up to last year, I had only seen a Lewis’s Woodpecker once. This largish, long-winged, darkish woodpecker is not common and is listed as rare. My experiences would confirm this. Last year, we saw a pair of them briefly one day at our feeders. We’ve been on the hunt for them ever since. Last Friday we saw one a couple of times at our feeder, but we didn’t get our hopes up, though we kept watchin. Then on the 4th, we saw two, this being one of them pcitured above. It’s the male, and looking at the feather ware, it would appear it’s had an active nest. Spent time in the hide this morning and had more opportunities to photograph the two. So much fun. They are the latest ranch quarry.

We’re very excited to share with you that we are going to the Yellowstone 18-23 Oct 2026 and would love to have you join us! We just had a seat open up and would love to have YOU fill it! Bison and Elk have their winter coats, the landscape is a carpet of colors, the crowds are gone, and the photographic opportunities are plentiful. And we’ll do Old Faithful a little bit differently than most (wx permitting). It’s Yellowstone, they come no grander!

We only take five shooters and are hoping you are one! You will fly into Bozeman, MT, where we will pick you up and bring you back after the week. The price is $2800, which covers everything except food and lodging.

If you can join us, please reach out to Sharon at 406. 240. 3503 (9-5MDT) so she can take care of securing your spot.

We’re very grateful to have you in our group and look forward to shooting with you!