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| Pileated Woodpecker, male |
It's amazing what you can see when you're not looking for something. While sitting at my drawing board last week, I heard a faint clicking sound, and looking up, saw a pileated woodpecker clinging to the window frame about four yards away. My first inclination was to reach for the camera behind me, but realizing that the motion would likely scare the bird, I held my breath and watched.
The woodpecker was quite striking up close with his impressive size (about that of a crow) and vibrant plumage. He was opening and shutting his beak, each time emitting the small clicking sound that first attracted my attention. I had never heard this before, but I'd never been this close to one of these birds, either. Might he be afflicted with the woodpecker version of TMJ disorder, or could he, perhaps, have just swallowed a castinette? (Please feel free to weigh in with your best guess.)
After a few minutes on the window frame, the bird flew to a nearby tree, shimmied quickly up the trunk and into the leafy over-story, before flying out of sight.
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| Brown-headed cowbird and tufted titmouse |
The thermometer reached 102˚ yesterday,
and everybody was grateful for fresh cool water in the birdbath.
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| Red-bellied woodpecker, male |
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| Red-bellied woodpecker, male |
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| Chipmunk and mourning dove |
Now what was this chipmunk doing out of her cool den in this heat?
She must have found something pretty interesting.
Hey, maybe she'll find my lens cap!
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom You made them all;
The earth is full of Your creatures.
Psalm 104:24
