May 25, 2026

Where: Wakefield Park

When: 5:45 pm

Bird Species: American robin, European starling, house sparrow, northern flicker, osprey, blue-gray gnatcatcher, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, pileated woodpecker

Things I Thought About:

• Every time I go to the movies, I eat a bunch of popcorn, and then later I feel gross from eating so much popcorn, and then the next time I go to the movies, I eat a bunch of popcorn.
• The Sheep Detectives was darling. I'd kill for that computer-generated winter lamb.
• Emma Thompson is absolutely perfect in everything she does.
• From the way she's behaving up there I'm almost positive that there are babies in the osprey nest, but there's no way I'll be able to see them from down here. Good for them.
• I did so much quality sitting around today. I do not wish to go back to work tomorrow.
• See a flicker, post a flicker. They're back, and they're back on my shit list.

• This is the first time I've looked at a mockingbird on guard and thought he might want to beat my ass. I legit had a moment of concern he was going to charge me. He seems to hate the stupid brimless cap I slapped on my head to keep the ticks off, which, same.
• I have never seen a movie that looks more merchandise-driven than Minions and Monsters.
• I can't believe they're doing Toy Story 5 at all, and the trailer makes it look like a story that should have come out eight years ago.
• I feel gross from eating too much popcorn at the movie.

BOTD: This was good luck. Earlier today, around 11 am, I was drinking coffee on my balcony and reading (brag) when I heard a pileated woodpecker close, and hared out with my camera to take a shot. I didn't get anywhere near it, and it was extremely gray anyway. It's a bird I like, and I wasn't sure I'd get a walk in later, so I was pretty sure this lousy photo was going to be the feature:

Then I did want to stretch my legs after the movie and walk off the popcorn, so I took a turn around Wakefield, and the last thing I saw before I was back at my car was this pileated working on a stump. A nice coincidence, and a good bird.

It may surprise people to know how large this bird is. They are certainly the biggest of my seven local woodpeckers; every pileated I've ever seen is at least a foot and few inches in length.

It's wonderful to look outside in the winter and see an 18 inch long dinosaur on a tree, with his perfect red crest showing against all the bare limbs and sky.

This one is a male. The males have the red cheek stripe; the females' stripe is just black.