Samhain report

Mine was quiet. Dave was on the road, so it was just me and my little friends, doing our thing. I've decided that's the best way for me to celebrate.

********

Wednesday morning I was out in the park very early. The stars were still shining, and the moon was so bright that the trees cast clear shadows on the trail. I walked for a long time, and as the sun came up I met a couple of pileated woodpeckers who were playing in the tree tops. One of them--the male, I think--was very talkative, and yacked away wildly as he flew from tree to tree. The female eventually joined in, and they sang a duet, something I've never heard before. They weren't just responding to each other, but actually singing together in harmony. I couldn't find an example on the bird sites, but you can listen to some pileated chatter here. The Cornell page has a good song, too. Just imagine it in stereo. Click here for a nice little family clip from Bird Cinema.


Photo from Wikimedia Commons