10 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a whollyowned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@durhamregion.com facebook.com/newsdurham @newsdurham WHO WE ARE Vice President Dana Robbins Regional General Manager Anne Beswick Director of Content Lee Ann Waterman Managing Editor Mike Lacey Director of Advertising Tanya Pacheco Director Distribution Jason Christie Director Creative Services Katherine Porcheron Durham Advisory Council Dan Carter; Esther Enyolu; Jake Farr; Dr. Vidal Chavannes; Cynthia Davis; Elaine Popp/Don Lovisa; John Henry; Sue McGovern; Kerri King; Steve Yamada; Kelly LaRocca; Peter Bethlenfalvy; Dr. Steven Murphy; Norah Marsh; Tracy Paterson; Chris Darling; Christina Curry CONTACT US This Week Phone: 905- 579-4407 Newsroom: 905-215-0462 Sales: 905-215-0424 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-579-2238 Web: www.durhamregion.com Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at durhamregion.com Delivery For all delivery inquiries, call 905- 579-4407 or visit the Contact Us page on durhamregion.com. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT DURHAMREGION.COM Remember that game, 20 questions? I had a great chat like that with an Orono reader trying to identify a woodpecker at her feeder. Not the usual suspects, hairy and downy, which come in black and white, with a splash of red on males' heads. Not a ladderbacked or Nuttall's, southern and far western U.S. species that never show up in Canada -- I assured her of that! A flicker, she wondered? But her daughter, living west of Enniskillen, had a similar bird visit her feeder, and very few northern flickers, which mainly feed on ants, hang around Ontario when the ground freezes. Too much of a coincidence that both family members should be so lucky! Carol finally agreed her visitor must have been a red-bellied woodpecker, a beige-breasted, red-naped species ranging ever northward with global warming. One in our neighbourhood comes sporadically to our suet cage, and we have fun watching its acrobatic bends and headstands as it stabs its beak through the bars. I envy my friend Mike McEvoy, who's had an amazing five species of woodpecker in his yard in Oshawa this winter, most coming by daily. Hairy, downy and redbellied are regulars. He had a crow-sized pileated show up in fall from time to time, living as he does along a densely wooded creek valley. Wouldn't that be a dramatic sight out your family room window -- a big black woodpecker with a bright red crest and whitestreaked face dominating your feeding station? And recently Mike's been hosting that rarest of overwintering woodpeckers, a flicker. When I asked him, he shared with me one of his secrets: raw, shelled peanuts, which he puts in a metal tube feeder he's had for more than 20 years. The flicker can grab on and reach the holes, but more often clings to a slab of wood attached to the pole and leans over. Every bird that comes to the feast of sunflower seeds Mike also provides would just as soon eat peanuts, apparently. Cardinals, blue jays, chickadees and both nuthatches hone in on the plump, oil-rich ground nuts, practically fighting over them, as mourning doves do when he puts them on his platform feeder. I felt like a cheapskate, asking how he could afford it, and he assured me peanuts for birds come in 50- pound bags at many outlets, at a bargain. And when he told me he'd just bought a heated bird bath, I asked if I could drop over and just sit in his yard someday, watching his flocks come and go. Nature queries: mcarney1490@gmail.com or 905-725-2116. Metroland columnist Margaret Carney finds so much to discover and marvel at exploring the great outdoors. NAME THAT BIRD IN DURHAM MARGARET CARNEY Column Northern flickers mainly eat ants, notes columnist Margaret Carney, so to see one in the winter is unusual. Perhaps photographer Mike McEvoy knows the trick for keeping this type of woodpecker around, Carney notes: "raw, shelled peanuts, which he puts in a metal tube feeder he's had for more than 20 years. The flicker can grab on and reach the holes, but more often clings to a slab of wood attached to the pole and leans over." Mike McEvoy photo WINTER RARITY COUNCILLORS SHOVELLED SENIORS' PROPERTY To the editor: We had a snowfall on Jan. 3 and I thought there was enough for Ajax operations to shovel (for which we had paid the Town of Ajax). Ajax never sent a crew and we needed to put our garbage out. I did not want to fall, since I am 75 years old, and my husband, 78, was not feeling well. I contacted (Ward 1 Coun.) Rob Tyler-Morin and he came by our house. Rob phoned me back to say that he and (Regional Ward 1 Coun.) Marilyn Crawford were coming over to shovel and after that they put our garbage out. My husband and I were very grateful that two councillors came to shovel and put out our garbage. We have the best councillors who are willing and able to help out seniors like ourselves. CAROLYN AND ALBERT SAUMUR, AJAX SLOW DOWN PEOPLE AND OBEY THE LAW' To the editor: First off, congrats to residents of Lambs Road on getting your brand new shiny red stop signs. Don't bet your life on those signs. Seven years ago we got stop signs installed at the intersection in front of my house. Great. Not really. People don't obey the all-way stop signs. I'd say more than 100 vehicles a day don't stop. Some slow down. Seven years of worrying about if I'm going to get hit when I exit my driveway. Allowed Durham police 24/7 use of my driveway to catch a few of these dummies. About 75 tickets later, I can see everyone who got ticketed does stop now. More than 100 a day don't stop. So many commercial vehicles. I've got enough videos to start my own YouTube channel. I've lived in Oshawa for 45 years; it's going down hill real fast. Way too many people in a hurry. Slow down people and obey the law. I've read the city is going crack down on all sorts of complaints. Maybe now, after seven years, something gets done. BRIAN SNOW, OSHAWA LETTERS & COMMENTARY SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT DURHAMREGION.COM