A mysterious tapping

A tiny bird on the far edge of a branch

A Downy woodpecker

We were at my favorite park this morning finishing up our walk, when we heard the

It dipped into a hole in the branch

mysterious tapping. It was a series of steady rhythmic taps ... tap-tap-tap pause tap-tap-tap pause.  We looked around and up in the trees but saw nothing.  "It's coming from this direction," I said to Tinkerbelle as I headed toward a patch of trees.  We followed the sound, but even then we saw nothing. We were about to turn back when all of a sudden, there it was...a tiny bird on the far edge of a long branch.  "It looks like a woodpecker," said Tinkerbelle following my gaze up the tree. White and black with a red patch on the top of its head, we later identified it as a Downy woodpecker. As we watched, in between tappings, it dipped in and out of a hole in the branch. "Culprit located and mystery solved!" I exclaimed as we set off  for home and breakfast.