When I got home from work this evening, I was startled by the close and raucous
call of a pileated woodpecker. I looked up and there it was, at
the top of a tree in my front yard. I have not seen a pileated in our yard 
since 1990!
We live in a patch of woods of only about 6-7 acres. I guess there isn't 
enough
room for a pileated in such a small woodland, and maybe it was just passing
through, but what a thrill to see it out in the open like that, crest 
raised and
handsome. It flew north (deeper into the woods) shortly after I noticed it.

Phoebes are nesting on our outdoor lights again, this time on the
light at the top of our west gable, which should be more satisfactory to all
concerned than last year's nest over the garage door.

Question: there's a noticeable wasp nest at the very top of the gable.
The phoebe nest is only a foot away from it--does the wasp nest act
as a deterrent to predators, or are these birds going to be sorry?


--Pat

Pat Valdata, Elkton, MD | 
"The natural function of the wing is to soar upwards
and carry that which is heavy up to the place where dwells the race of gods.
More than any other thing that pertains to the body
it partakes of the nature of the divine." --Plato