I know, I know. I understand. It grows where I don’t want it. The NERVE. It makes me itch just to look at it and heaven forbid if its oil gets on someone else’s sleeve and that sleeve brushes against me. But Poison Ivy is a native, and native birds love the berries. Afternoon after afternoon I watch as Pileated Woodpeckers and Yellow-shafted Flickers feast on the white berries of Poison Ivy. Not such a wicked plant if you allow it to grow in the woods in its own territory. Lesson learned by yours truly. Leave it be if it is not in your gardens. The birds love it.
Today was a lucky bird kind of day. And I didn’t even step outside. Mid-day I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) in one of the huge oak trees in front of my cabin. Not at all unusual here, but to see one, a HUGE and BEAUTIFUL bird, is to stop everything to admire the moment. As you can see, I did manage to get a photo. Glad I could at least record the moment.
Then in the middle of the afternoon I went upstairs to my bedroom and found, looking in through the window at me, a charming Barred Owl (Strix varia), sitting in a Tulip Poplar Tree. A tree that had been destined to be cut down for the sake of ultimate fire safety. Now, that tree will be saved. My owls must have a perch.
The owl was generous with its time, turning its head as if doing yoga. Making me wish I could do the same. Then it was off, to find another perch, perhaps where there was not a camera trained in on its every move.
But outside is where I should have been. Hiking up the mountain. Putting in more miles. Taking in more of Mother Nature’s world. Another day, another year, I was doing just that, and stumbled upon this. Another Barred Owl. A mom or dad, watching over the little one.
The little one, looking so sweet. Oh, I certainly could feel those EYES of mom or dad, perhaps thirty feet away. Staring DOWN at me. For sure another lucky bird day.
