Listing Through Life

dryocopus (from drys, an oak tree, and kopis, cleaver) pileatus (crested)

Wednesday, December 26, 1979 — 2:00 pm

McNaughton, Wisconsin

In the afternoon, my fiancée and I took a walk along a narrow road through the woods.  We hadn’t gone very far when a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers flew out of the trees and landed on the trunk of a tall, dead pine about 50 feet from where we stood. We slowly walked toward them and got within 30 feet of the base of the tree before they took off. When they flew, they made no noise at all. I was impressed by how quiet and inconspicuous they were for such large birds. And they looked positively prehistoric. We were impressed.

lanius (butcher) ludovicianus (Louisiana Territory)

Wednesday, November 21, 1979 — 9:30 am

Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley

I first saw the shrike on a wire between a yard and a brushy field. It was perched on the wire, looking around. As I approached, it took off and flew to the top of a tree along the pond, then to the top of a bush out in another brushy field.

sialia (bird) sialis (bird)

Tuesday, November 20, 1979 — 2:30 pm

Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley

I spotted these Eastern Bluebirds perched on a wire fence along the road. They frequently flitted down to the ground for a few seconds then flew back up to their perch on the fence.

colinus (quail) virginianus (of Virginia)

Tuesday, November 20, 1979 — 2:00 pm

Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley

I was walking across the backyard when I flushed these Bobwhites. They came up out of the thick brush that lines the small, usually dry creek that cuts across the yard. Like rockets, they headed across the twenty feet of clearing and disappeared into the woods on the hillside.

cathartes (scavenger) aura (gold)

Tuesday, November 20, 1979 — 1:30 pm

Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley

I spotted the Turkey Vulture circling high over the woods and fields in the valley. Its wings were held in a shallow “V” and, as it soared and banked, I could see the pale area on the trailing edges.