Winter Cleaning, Woodpecker-Style

I was standing by the kitchen window, cleaning the chalkboard easel, when I noticed something that looked like falling snow. Obviously, because of where I live, it was not snow. I took a closer look out the window and saw falling feathers, bits of straw and what looked like dryer lint, floating on the breeze to the ground below.

And what a mess the ground turned out to be.

I looked up and saw this little face peeking out at me.

It was a female woodpecker (I believe a Gilded Flicker) cleaning house. She was kicking out an old abandoned nest from under our roof tile. I don't know if it was hers or if it belonged to someone else, but she didn't want it. It sure made a mess, but it was cute to watch her work so diligently. The snowfall of nest pieces lasted about 30 minutes. After her job well done of messing up my yard, she snuggled in and rested comfortably in her newly updated home .