Bona Dea was bright and sunny and no wind and not as cold as before. I parked along one of the cutouts on Parkway Hwy close to where I was going to go. The photo here,taken as I left the vehicle, is of a place used to be called 40 acre rock. As a kid I would go there and we could just run and jump on the hugh rocks that made a high platform for I suppose 40 acres. Now as you can see it has been developed with several hugh homes. Boooooooo. Anyway, I left the vehicle and sliped and slided all the way down the dike to the Serpendipity trail, because snow was still on the ground, to swinging bridge trail. You might say that this day had gone to the birds, literally. I did not take a camera as I did not think there would be much out as had not been in the past few days. WRONG. Don't ever think that because it is winter in this part of the country that there are no birds. Mercy, this was bird paradise on this day. I only went from the start of swinging bridge trail to Prarie Creek which is less than a quarter mile. And this is what I saw. 1. 2 gray squirrls 2. Turkey Vulcers flying overhead 3. Hundreds of Gulls flying overhead 4. Downy Woodpecker 5. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker woodpecker 6. A Northern Flicker woodpecker 7. Dozens of Bushtit, very small gray birds 8. Kinglets, olive colored very small birds, maybe orange or red spotted types 9. Carolina Chickedees 10.Woodland Sparrows, for sure the White-throated variety 11. Northern Cardinal 12. Hugh flocks of black Grackels flying overhead. 13. Blue Teal ducks, a pair flew right by me to the creek close by 14. Tufted Titmouse, these smaller birds above were pretty much bunched together. 15. Ok the most gratifying and therefore saving the best for last is the biggest woodpecker in North American since supposedly the Ivory Billed is extinct, last supposedly seen here in Arkansas a few years back, the Pileated Woodpecker. Actually there were a pair of them. They flew on a limb in a tree in Goose Pond. Looked like they were gonna make love but one was not in the mood and flew off to a lower tree a few yards away. And boy did it start to peck away. Sounded like someone building a house. Then the one left by itself few off in the woods. Then they started calling for each other. Just screaming bloody murder. They do those sort of things. I would strongly encourage you to use the ALL ABOUT BIRDS link at the right and look up all the listed critters mentioned above. If you don't have time, take time to look at the Pileated Woodpecker. If fact I am going to put that link in this post. Then scroll down to this woodpecker and you will see at the right a place to click to here their sound called typical voice. Just multiply that sound by 3 and you will hear what I heard. I have enclosed a photo of one here too. But go there to hear that unmistakeable horrific sound.
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2 comments:
I like reading your observations, you make the scenes you saw alive with your words.
beautiful pictures too.
Thanks a lot for your nice comment. I try to make the reading like an adventure. I hope it helps as if you are a long for the ride. Glad you like it. In a few weeks some of the animals will start moving around and that will be really interesting.
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