Trail Mix: Urban Birdwatching
I was watching the neighbour's cat trying to sneak up on a group of Starlings when I heard a sound that made me freeze. As soon as I heard the sound, I recognized the call of a Pileated Woodpecker, but it took me a second to react. I hadn't seen or heard one before in an urban environment, but in that instant it brought me back to my childhood and living in the woods. I ran inside to grab my longer lens and tried to get as close as I could, but it was quickly darting from tree to tree. It was almost comical to watch how it made short work of a dead branch across the road to look for insects... chunks of the branch being hammered out by the Woodpecker's bill. As quickly as it arrived, off it flew in search of a tasty lunch.
Sidenote is a random Trail Swag musing that hopefully make you ponder. Let us know your thoughts.