Today I explored Hope Island (Mason County). The cold weather and threat of rain, combined with it being a weekday, meant I had the island all to myself. It was one of those rare experiences of true solitude that I usually have to travel to faraway, exotic places to experience -- and even there, such experiences are illusive and require extra effort on my part.

Anyway, as I was finishing up the loop trail, a Flicker flushed, and I saw that a second Flicker and two Pileated Woodpeckers were hopping about on the ground and probing at the soil. I am used to seeing Flickers do this; but to see not one, but two Pileateds doing it, too -- that was a surprise. So much of a surprise, it took me a few moments to identify them as woodpeckers and not some kind of strange grouse or quail. Since they were on the trail, after they all eventually flew, I looked around to see what they had been probing for, but I did not see anything different there than anywhere else on the loop trail. Which just goes to show, even when you know a species well, or think you do, it can still surprise you.

Jason Hernandez
Bremerton
jason.hernandez74 at yahoo.com