FAVORITES FROM MAY

 Today I am sharing a collage from last month's favorite photos.  There were many and not all are here.  It is so hard to choose a few.

"Instructions for life: pay attention.  

Be astonished.  Tell about it."

~Mary Oliver~

HUNTLEY MEADOWS - WEDNESDAY - 4-25-22 - THE PILEATED WOODPECKER

Standing with an equally interested and interesting group of people, I had been shown where to find the Pileated Woodpecker.  A pair had been observed, male and female, one flying away and the other staying and guarding their chicks.  One would return and the other would leave.  I saw a flash of wings when I first arrived and knew I had spotted something special.  I was very thankful to those who shared what it was.   

These birds are most commonly found in the eastern and southern portions of the United States, and are considered one of the largest woodpeckers in North America.  They measure from 15.8 to 19.3 inches (40-49 cm) in length.  There was once an Ivory-billed Woodpecker which was recognized as the largest in North America, but sadly it was announced extinct as recently as 2021.  The Pileated took its place and is now considered to be the largest here.  Added note on  5-11-22 at 6:58 a.m: you can read an interesting article at this link.  It is written by Kenn Kaufmann, a birding expert and Audubon Field Editor, who talks about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.  A quote from him on its extinction: "My head says that the species is extinct, but my heart won't accept that..."  One thing I noticed when looking at my photos later on the laptop screen, was the entrance to their nest.  It was a large rectangular hole.  This is a sign that Pileated Woodpeckers are in residence.  They use dead or old trees to carve out a cavity. When it is used for a nest it is more oblong.

Once they find a partner, Pileated Woodpeckers will mate for life. Like other birds, they perform interesting displays of courtship.  This is how the males attract females, such as flight displays, head swinging, raising of the crest feathers, and spreading their wings to reveal white patches.  The oldest known Pileated Woodpecker was a male, and at least 12 years, 11 months old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Maryland.  When I first arrived and when asked by a photographer what I had seen, I had mentioned the white patches on the wings.  He had told me that it sounded like the male.

Both mom and dad Pileated Woodpeckers are hands on in tending to their young and will have 3 to 5 eggs which are white.  They feed their babies a variety of regurgitated insects, fruit and nuts.  During nesting season they will defend their territory from predators and other bird species, and will make loud drumming sounds and calls to deter any threat.

Unlike other male and female bird species that typically differ in color, male and female Pileated Woodpeckers are very similar and both have the red top-knot on their heads.  However, males can be easily identified by the bright red stripe on the sides of their face.  

And so, I am guessing the bird in my photo is the female as they have a black stripe on their cheeks, rather than the red.

I would like to thank the Bird Feeder Hub (link here).  You can read much more if you go to their website.

Thanks for looking and I wish you all a very happy day.

HUNTLEY MEADOWS - WEDNESDAY - 4-25-22 - WOODS AND MARSH

Trees are felled by beaver, and we have a lot of North American Beavers in this area, as I have mentioned many times before…

but trees are felled by natural causes.  

They just snap... 

and that is all.

Having had a lot of rain lately, the woods smell fresh and earthy.

I love being in the woods but leaves of three, let it be.  That's Poison Ivy climbing up the trunk.

It doesn’t take long for everything to look green does it, especially with the amount of rain we have been having lately?

Fortunately, it didn't rain on this day, but we saw its benefits in our surroundings.  Liquid sunshine had done its magic.

Plants and wildflowers were blooming.

This is Longstyle sweetroot (botanical name Osmorhiza longistylis), also called Anise root, Wild anise, Licorice root and Smooth sweet cicely, a native of North America.  The crushed plant has a distinct scent of Anise.

In the photo below you will see the five-petaled flower of the Virginia springbeauty (botanical name Claytonia virginica), also known as Fairy spud, Good morning spring and Narrowleaf springbeauty.  I see it everywhere right now.  Those other yellow clusters are the flowers of the Sweet Gum, (botanical name Liquidambar styraciflua).  It also goes by Hazel pine, Redgum, Star-leaved gum, American storax and Alligatorwood.  This tree can age up to 400 years.  You can read more information at the links provided.

Doggies are being taken for their walks...

Okay for this area of the park, but for obvious reasons (not disturbing the wildlife with their curiosity), they are not allowed on the board walk going across the marsh.  They do seem happy on the trail through the woods.

These doggies are allowed to get a bit wild.  Flowering Dogwoods that is!

We are at the start of the marshy area, where we head for the boardwalk.  

The beaver dam has been fortified.

Fallen logs are great for ducks to rest for a while.  

The one on the left was being chatty but its companions were trying to sleep.

He gave up in the end.

Next, I am putting the cart before the horse so to speak, sharing a sighting that we came across on our way back.  

A small crowd was staring up into the trees, some had binoculars.  There was a photographer with a big zoom lens (600 mm) patiently waiting off to the side.  They were very friendly and chatty when I asked them what were they all looking at, with lots of finger pointing into the tree tops.  

The photographer volunteered that there was a Pileated Woodpecker nest in one of those tall trees, and he had been watching the parents go back and forth to the nest.  First one and then the other, each taking turns foraging food for their chicks.  (They chip out a large cavity in the tree to build their nest.)  

I had seen a large bird take off and wasn't sure what it was.  When the photographer asked me what it looked like, he told me what I had seen was a Pileated Woodpecker.   He said he had been waiting and watching as one came out of the nest cavity, leaving the other with their young.  

After he had taken his photos, he left soon after with a big grin.  I am sure he was very happy with his photos.  I was very grateful for the kindness he showed by sharing his knowledge.  I wish I had thought to ask him if he had a website.  

One of the parents is in the photo below.

It's up there (tree on the left).  I will have more to share of the Pileated Woodpecker tomorrow.  I only wish I had that 600 mm lens but hey-ho, it's a memory.  I am grateful with what I have.

The strangest thing is that I have only ever had three experiences with this bird, in the 46 years that I have lived here.  To be fair there were many years when my priorities were elsewhere, the most important being the care of our son.  Suddenly my nest was empty, and I didn't discover how very much I loved birding until after he had left home.  

One sighting was on a walk at the Manassas Battlefield Park several years ago.  I didn't take a camera everywhere with me back then, and I didn't have one with a zoom.  

Two days after our visit where we encountered these beauties at Huntley Meadows Park, I was astounded to see one land on our deck, clinging to the pole above the bird cam.  I just about fell out of my shoes in surprise.  They are the biggest woodpecker in America, this one at least a foot long we thought.  We didn't have time to take a photo from inside, and he wasn't in view of the bird cam.  He was gone in seconds but at least we saw him.  And again, hey-ho, sometimes in life you just have to be content with the memory.  

And on that note, I will finish my post.  More photos of our feathered friend tomorrow.  Thanks for looking and have a great day!