Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Interesting woodpecker behavior

In a park downtown today, I saw a gorgeous male Nuttall's Woodpecker on the ground (cement) in a very shallow puddle. He was holding his belly very low and dragging it in the puddle and hopping around as if he was trying to take a bath, but the puddle was so shallow, that he didn't get much of a bath. Every once in a while, he kind of pecked at the puddle -- I think that he was trying to drink, but there was only a little scooping action going on. He also made a single-note call every few seconds -- PEEP! I watched him for minute or two, then kept walking. When I looked back, he was gone, so I assume that he could fly and wasn't hurt. I can't recall seeing a non-Flicker woodpecker on the ground like this. Oh how, I wish I had my camera (it takes video). He was quite cute and a little pathetic -- most woodpeckers are not made to move about on the ground. Poor thing -- he needed a deeper body of water.

My husband subscribes to Birds of North America Online. I'm going to ask him to access the article on the Nuttall's Woodpecker for me so that I can read the Behavior section. But not tonight. It's time for bed.

Good night,
Sylvie

Sunday, June 22, 2008

My husband's first blog entry on Alaska

My husband, who is an amazing naturalist, photographer, writer, and friend, just posted a blog entry about the first leg -- St. Paul -- of our recent trip to Alaska. Enjoy!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Winnie

Winnie the Pooh Web site, via The Answer's 42. Speaking of Winnie ... oh, how I loathe what Disney has done to him. Milne and Shepard are rolling in their graves (not that I think that's possible :-)

OK, I've got more Alaska photos to download and sort!

Bye,
Sylvie

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Back from Alaska!

Anchorage, 5-29-08Anchorage, 5-29-08

We spent about 19 days in Alaska on a birding trip. It was our first birding trip with a tour company. The birds, mammals, landscape, etc. were beyond AWESOME! This is the view from the lake near our hotel in Anchorage. Anchorage was our base, and we visited a number of other locations -- St. Paul (one of the Pribilof Islands), Denali National Park, Nome, Seward, and Barrow -- spending several days at each location, and returning to Anchorage for one night in between visiting each place.

I have a bazillion (can I just say that the spell checker did not catch this word. What's up with that?) photos to sort through, so I will be sharing more later. I even have a needlecraft-related photo from Alaska to share.

Good night,
Sylvie