My colleague Brian and I had a great day earlier in the week…you could say it was a red-letter day!

We were actually on a mission to find the best birding locations around Savannah, Georgia for a tour we will be leading next summer.

In preparation, we had done our homework by talking to the experts at our local WBU store, checking the records on eBird.org and reading the birding trip reports on the Georgia Birders Online Listserv.

In doing this homework it is always inevitable that you end up with a list of “target” birds that you might have the possibility of seeing. Among the dozen or so species I really hoped to see, one bird stood out…the Red-cockaded Woodpecker!

This federally listed endangered species has been sort of a nemesis bird for me as I have searched for it more than a few times and always came up empty. But hope does springs eternal with each visit to the right type of habitat!

After a very short night and a very early morning drive to the Webb Wildlife Center in South Carolina, Brian and I found ourselves in a natural area that is specifically managed to provide nesting habitat for this rather drab little woodpecker.

Tree after tree bore the white-striped marking used by wildlife managers to denote that it has been used as a nesting site by a Red-cockaded Woodpecker. You would think that with an advantage like this the bird would be easy to find, but only if it wasn’t a nemesis bird! We looked, and hiked and looked some more without any luck and I felt a sense of futility starting to take hold.

Just as we returned to our car to leave the area, we noticed some bird activity from across the road. We heard a raspy shirrep call and saw that the pine trees showed a lot of fresh foraging marks on their trunks. Then a woodpecker with a striking white cheek patch flew high into the top of a tree.

A quick look through the binoculars and eureka! The quest was complete! The former nemesis bird had instantly taken on the celebrated title of #500 on the list of birds I have seen in the United States.

We eventually saw more Red-cockaded Woodpeckers that morning and much to my delight, one of them even posed long enough to be photographed.

All in all it was a red-letter day during which we shared a truly special moment with a truly special bird!