I had a pretty good weekend last week watching birds. My wife and I went up to Cane Creek State Park near Star City, AR to check it out on Saturday.
They have two trails to nature walk on, the Delta View Trail and Lake Trail. The Delta View Trail is 2.5 miles and the Lake Trail covers the entire lake is about 15 miles long. We covered a partial segment of the Delta View Trail. It was very nicely land out and was great for taking a nature walk.
I was walking for birding, she was walking for exercise so our paces were slightly different. About 5 minutes into our little adventure, she calls me on my cell to tell me to hurry up. She thinks she has spotted a Pileated Woodpecker! I quickened step only to be disappointed when I arrived, it was gone. This is the one bird I has on my list to see first and hopefully capture the moment with a picture.
I did see a Summer Tanager, a Yellow-Rumped Warbler, several Titmice and a few Downy Woodpeckers. I include a pic of the Summer Tanager below. It was high in the trees. He wasn't in the mood to have his picture taken!
I went back up to Cane Creek on Sunday afternoon with my friends and their little 'birder' that I've had the pleasure of showing my backyard birds to. She just loved it. This time we covered the entire 2.5 mile Delta View Trail. We saw and heard several birds.
This time, however, the Pileated Woodpecker wasn't so illusive. I was able to observe 3 Pileateds, all in flight. They are awesome birds. They are distinctive to say the least. I was excited I was able to see one. Next time I hope to get a pic of the experience!
That same day, I had another treat to add to the weekend. I had two Indigo Bunting visit my yard. The hung around for most of the day, just at a distance. They never would come in close enough to get a descent pic.
All in all, it was a good weekend. I added two birds to my life list!
God Bless and Good Birding!