Knock, knock, knockin'

When I stepped outside this morning to fill my feeders, I was treated to a familiar, but not regular sound. Somewhere south of our property, high up in the trees, there emanated an unmistakable knocking. This was not the sound of our resident Hairy or Downy Woodpeckers drumming, but rather it was one of the larger Pileated Woodpeckers. You know, the Woody Woodpecker kind.

It was relatively mild out, so after filling my suet cage, my seed feeder and my firewood sling, I stayed outside for another 10 minutes or so to listen to the Pileated's drumming echo. The snow always makes the woods seem quieter than other seasons, so the drumming was undisturbed with the exception of a few chickadee calls and Groupie the Ruffed Grouse's gurgling sounds as he circled at my feet.

Yes, Groupie has bounced back from the attack that he suffered a few weeks ago. He is quite the character. Mike spent a few hours clearing the snow from our long driveway on Saturday, and Groupie hopped up on the tractor fender, ran along side the snow blade, and generally stayed within a couple of feet at all times. It takes Mike a little longer to clean away the snow when he has to constantly watch that he doesn't bury, run over or otherwise injure our crazy little grouse. But the extra effort is well worth it when you get to spend time with such a bizarre creature.