Hi folks,

I am generally a lurker on this list, and often envious of other peoples
birding adventures, but I had a wonderful cooperative pileated encounter
today.
I was gardening-aka-birding by ear. I had heard a pileated and even
glimpsed it twice over the previous couple of hours. (Pileateds are not
unheard of in my neighborhood, but pretty uncommon.) Then it flew into
a tree not too far from where I was working (on a hill, not an easy dash
to the house for binoculars). I looked at it as it worked its way up
the tree. I decided to take a break, and as the bird was still there I
went to the upstairs deck to look at it through my binoculars. I
noticed that a nuthatch was doing its best to get the giant thing out of
the tree, with about as much effect as a fly would have buzzing a
human. No wait, it was a pair of nuthatches. I sat down to watch the
action, then remembered that my new scope was stored inside only a few
feet from where I was sitting.
Emphasis in NEW scope. I am still very klutzy with it. I set it up,
then noticed that the scope was attached backwords. ( I am having some
trouble with the scope attaching to the mount and my husband had
tightened it, but put it on the wrong direction.) I removed the whole
thing and put it on again, then struggled to find the bird in the scope,
sure by now that the thing would fly away. It did.
But wait, the nuthatches were still yanking. There was still a pileated
in the tree! I watched it for several minutes, before it, too, flew
away!
Gardening is great fun!

Margie in Kenmore