Friday, March 13, 2009

ANSWER TO MY POLL: LEWIS'S WOODPECKER

I had a poll with the question, What bird is named for Captain Lewis of the Lewis & Clarke Expedition? The answer is Lewis's Woodpecker. (I had posted it as the mystery bird a few days ago. But no one who answered the poll caught it). A few years ago I went with two friends: Andy and Clem on a trip in which we visited Traveller's Rest the place where Lewis & Clarke camped after their hazardous crossing of the Rockies. I was on the lookout for Lewis's Woodpecker, with its interesting mixture of green and red. But I never did see it. One interesting thing that they learned was how the Poor Whill hibernates in a way that they actually seem dead if one finds them by day as either Lewis or Clarke did.

Yesterday our small herd of deer were "cavorting". That's exactly the word that came to mind as I saw them kicking up their heels and frolicking along the field. It is I guess an early spring. The noreaster of a week and a half ago did not drop much snow here in Ulster County. My snowshoes are definitely "packed away". (This picture is of my brother Dan enjoying the River from a bench at Esopus Lighthouse.

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