A short walk through Heritage State Park Sunday morning proved fruitful.

In addition to the usual swarms of American Robins, Dark-Eyed Juncos, and European Starlings, I found two species of woodpeckers — including a first for my observations in the downtown area — and a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk.

Downy Woodpeckers are a fairly common sight in the park, and that was the first woodpecker I spotted:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

He was hanging around in a tree right at the edge of the park along Dwight Street.

While observing the Downy, a more unfamiliar woodpecker paid a visit to the same tree — this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

I’ve now seen Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers in the downtown neighborhoods. I’m hoping to eventually check Pileated and Hairy woodpeckers off the list.

Fall and winter usually bring an influx of Cooper’s Hawks into the city, so I start keeping an eye out for them in October. Yesterday, I spotted one hunting in a field along Appleton Street, and then perching on this lamp post along the CanalWalk:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

After a few moments the hawk took off, swooped over the canal, and settled in this tree right outside the Volleyball Hall of Fame. The branch was only about five feet off the ground:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

I have yet to see and adult Cooper’s Hawk this year, but I’m sure they’re out there. They seem to favor this park and the area around the library.

As a side note, mostly unrelated to birding: the city’s recently renovated and reopened public library is stunning. The new wing includes plenty of comfortable chairs set up just so in front of the building’s expansive windows. It’s hard to imagine a better place to spend a few hours with a good book or magazine.

And, those big windows remind me of the hours and hours I spent as a kid watching backyard birds through the patio door at my family’s apartment at Pheasant Hill on Barrett Street in Northampton.