it seems today was the day for woodpeckers, specifically pileated
woodpeckers, on the plateau... what's strange is the last time i took a
good photo of a pileated was almost three years ago, and i've seen one only
once since...

so, skye (a fellow photog and all-around good kid) and i went sammamish
birding this morning... first stop, soaring eagle park ... not much to be
heard beyond a few crows, song sparrows, and the tap tapping of a beak not
too far away... our first pileated, a female, was enjoying her hammering
not 100 metres up a tree-strewn, muddy-snow trail, in mostly-full view (if
against the sun too often)... she allowed us to get within 30 feet of
mostly-underbrush of the blackberry varietal...

after about 30 minutes or so or trying to find other avian life, we
carefully retrace our vehicular steps for hazel wolf wetlands preserve...
this place is not easy to find, given the only signage for it is literally
at the trailhead, and large enough to read if you are standing in front of
it...

anyway, lo and behold, less than 300 metres up THIS trail are two
pileateds... the one we photograph for the next 20 minutes starts off at
ground level on the stub of a stump, then hies himself about 10 feet up a
snag about 30 feet away... he was just as industrious as the previous
female, working on holes that had the possibility of becoming nesting
cavities later in the season... and, while there was a lot of underbrush
here making the portrait difficult, the intrepid duo manages to bag him (as
it were)... the third was too high, and failed to see the fun in having an
image taken, to be famous for a while...

making the loop on ann's walking trail, we manage to scrounge up a belted
kingfisher, two hooded mergansers (mated pair?), a very few golden-crowned
kinglets, bushtits, and black-capped chickadees, more song sparrows, a
spotted towhee, two winter wrens, and a possible fox sparrow... ann's trail
will need a bit of cleanup to make it family-friendly, but good boots and
balance were enough to make the trek an enjoyable one. the wetlands
themselves are under thin ice at the moment...

photos of the pileateds (the only bird today to stand still long enough) and
those from Juanita Bay Park (yesterday) are new on the park gallery website
in the "photos of the month" gallery... enjoy!

00 caren
http://www.parkgallery.org
george davis creek, north fork


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