Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

The past few mornings this week I've been hearing the high-pitched clucks and kuks of the log cock or as it's more commonly referred to as the Pileated Woodpecker ( Dryocopus pileatus ). Pileated Woodpeckers are really something to behold. For one thing they are big! When you see a Downy Woodpecker ( Picoides pubescens ) or even a Hairy ( P. villosus ) at the feeder, they looked pretty well proportioned for a woodpecker. Even Red-bellied Woodpeckers ( Melanerpes carolinus ) look fairly decent as well. But once you have a Pileated visit, you don't soon forget it! Another pecker of the trees I've been noticing recently is the Northern Flicker ( Colaptes auratus ). When I went out to take some photos yesterday evening, I saw a family of flickers dust bathing and anting in the parking lot. I'd never seen that before and while I tried to get closer, the whole group flushed as I made my approach. While the pictures were from far away, they still seem to capture the dedi...

While I haven't gotten out much this week due to my schedule, I just wanted to take the time to share some great photos I've taken recently around the Watershed Preserve in Pennington, NJ. So far I've listed 40 species where I'm staying and I'm am so excited for spring migration! I hope you enjoy what the wilds of New Jersey have to offer. An inquisitive Carolina Chickadee ( Poecile carolinensis ) peeks upward. A male Red-bellied Woodpecker ( Melanerpes carolinus ) in mid hop as it scales a snag. A Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warbler ( Setophaga coronata ) skips around the branches looking for running sap and fleeting insects A female Downy Woodpecker ( Picoides pubescens ) drinks sap drizzling from a tree trunk. Bluebird houses abound on the property. They might be used by docile bluebirds and Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ), or by the more aggressive House Wren ( Troglodytes aedon ). Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis ) and Ring-...