In the (near) spring, a young pileated's fancy

Tom got back last night a bit before nine. This morning while on the phone with Helen, he noticed two pileated woodpeckers on a tree in the back yard. They were circling around the base of the tree and flapping at one another occasionally. I got on line and looked up "pileated woodpecker mating dance", and sure enough, I found someone from southwestern Wisconsin describing exactly what we were seeing. After a while the birds moved to the ground, and they hopped around in the snow for a while. The male would also spread his wings, puff out his chest (and I assume suck in his stomach) with his beak up in the air to demonstrate what a fine specimen he was. Later Tom noticed that another one had shown up and was pecking away at a nearby tree. Perhaps some competition for the lady's attention?

At any rate, we are always happy to see one pileated and seeing two and then three was great. Who would have thought that they would pick the middle of our backyard to flirt so outrageously? It seemed to attract the squirrels who kept running by, but the birds ignored them completely. Sundance climbed up on the kitchen cabinet and looked out the window to see what was so interesting. We didn't let the cats out, though. They can go out their own door, of course, but if we are around, they seem to think that opening the door/flap for themselves is beneath their feline dignity.

About the middle of all this activity, Evelyn called. She and Joe are leaving today for New Hampshire to see their daughter and granddaughter, and she could not get the boarding passes for the flights to print out. Since I had planned to go into Baraboo today anyway to pick up a book at the library, I went in early and took care of the boarding passes. These people really need someone working for them full time -- and not me!

Right now I am at the library where the wonders of wireless internet access make it possible for me to send this out to all of you.