Greetings,
A few weeks ago, I decided to explore a familiar wooded area located only a few miles from home. I didn’t have any particular goal in mind other than to enjoy a rainy afternoon in the company of blooming plants and trees.
Two hours of botanizing had passed before I headed back to the trailhead, fully satisfied having observed oaks, birches, and beeches in flower.
Just before I could complete my hike, however, I was suddenly alerted to a peculiar commotion emanating from the canopy. I instinctively turned around to look at an American beech tree, and upon doing so I discovered something quite remarkable: a pileated woodpecker nest, replete with an adult male and two juveniles.
With curiosity and amazement, I observed the adult woodpecker as he regurgitated insects and fed his hungry sons. The whole ordeal lasted for only a minute before the adult departed and the juveniles retreated back into their nest.
Rather than snap a few photographs and end the interaction there, I decided to visit the nest every day until the juveniles left.
Two weeks later, I was utterly transformed by the entire experience.
In the following video, I discuss my rewarding observations and emotion-rich encounters with these beautiful birds.
If you’ve never experienced an active pileated woodpecker nest up close, this is your chance to do so.
Even during dry spells, delicious wild mushrooms occasionally make surprise appearances. Such was the case with this Lion’s Mane mushroom — an edible fungus that I recently found on a black locust tree. To learn more about Lion’s Mane, check out this recent Learn Your Land Instagram post.
Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support!
-Adam Haritan
Paths I Walk 