It wasn’t long ago, just last week, in fact, that I wrote about uncommon birds showing up unexpectedly now and then.

You never know where or when they will appear, I wrote, but being vigilant is the key to finding them.

Not long after that column went to print, I received an email that really drove home that point. Eric from Surry wrote to say he had seen a red-headed woodpecker in his backyard.

When I opened the email, I could see only the text, not the photos. I have no way of knowing one’s bird identification skills when I get an email, so it’s always nice when a photo is attached, regardless of quality, to confirm the sighting.