Old Yard, New Eyes
Female Pileated Woodpecker in flight I stood outside today, probably the coldest day of the winter so far, while my family enjoyed being indoors in the warmth. I was in my own back yard, camera in hand, because I had heard a familiar cackling that told me my yard's newest residents, a pair of pileated woodpeckers, were in view, working on a dead tree just past my property line, but well in view from my deck. I was just going to watch the pair briefly and head back in-- it was cold, and I was a bit under-dressed for the weather. As I watched, the cardinals, tufted titmice, Carolina chickadees, juncos, and red and white breasted nuthatches flew around me, filling me in on the latest avian gossip; the white-throated sparrows scratched around in the grass nearby, tossing leaves about. Suddenly, it came-- that warning cry that makes 30 or more birds instantly dive for cover in the brush and disappear. I looked over at the pileated woodpecker. The male was nowhere to be seen, and t...