On the Hunt

Although there may be more snowy days and there’s still a bit of snow on the ground, winter’s over and spring's begun. Skunk cabbage is in bloom, geese call overhead – it certainly is spring.

The air was calm, the sun was bright, there were but a few clouds in the sky and the temperature was just about freezing – what a wonderful day to hunt for the red-headed woodpeckers once again.

A fallen tree provided great place to sit, just about the right height and with a small tree for a backrest. It wasn’t long before one of the red-headed woodpeckers that call this patch of woodland home landed on a nearby limb.

 

Drat, a few small branches kept the camera from focusing on the bird; it focused on the branches instead –

 

From that branch it flew up to the end of a dead limb on a tall tree and proceeded to drum on that resonant limb to claim its territory –

But a few moments later the woodpecker flew down to a small eastern hophornbeam tree and spent several minutes there –

And then off it went to land high on a far distant tree –

It was time to sit and wait for it to return, but something intervened.

That something was a mink approaching on a fallen tree –

This must have been the most fearless mink ever – and most mink are quite bold – because it just kept hunting for a meal as this photographer followed it –

– pushing through clumps of dead grass, and exploring piles of fallen trees –

Until it alerted to prey and with a leap disappeared behind the log and didn’t emerge –

What a great day!!!