Saturday, April 15, 2023

A female pileated woodpecker, at last!

The temperature was back up in the 80s.  I think birds were busy nesting because they didn't come to the feeders when I was watching.  I could hear them up in the trees.  A few turtles were out on a log but not as many as usual.  Plenty of skinks were active.  I think there was more than one red head and I saw one with a blue tail and another with a regrown tail.  Something upset a mallard drake and he perched on the dock bench to let everyone know how he felt.  

The beautyberry began to leaf out.  The first blossom appeared on an evening primrose.  The coral honeysuckle was loaded with flowers just waiting for a hummingbird.  Some azaleas were done but others were still in full bloom.  I noticed more rosebuds.  Bees worked hard but I didn't see as many wasps.  One I did see, I thought was a yellowjacket queen but it was red.  Ir doesn't seem to fit any identification. The money plants were still blooming but loaded with seed pods.  A duskywing skipper fed on the money plant flowers.  It was a lot prettier than most duskywings and I thought Juvenal's Duskywing, Erynnis juvenali, was the best match.  

Some threatening clouds blew past but the day stayed dry.  I was sitting outside letting my hair dry when the pileated woodpecker landed on the post.  He didn't like my presence, I think, because he flew off, came back, and flew away again.  So I went inside.  After supper, a female pileated appeared.  She spent time investigating everything - the ground below the post, the steps, the mulch - then finally climbed the post and feasted on the fresh block of suet I'd hung.  (Unfortunately, when I bought the suet last Fall, I forgot to specify "no melt" so I need to move ther rest of the suet out of the garage soon.) 

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