At Rockefeller State Park yesterday, quite a few birds streaked by me, hardly distinguishable as their colors blended almost perfectly into the forest understory and the lofty treetops. I could only identify most of the birds by their calls, since, for the most part, all I could see was a small dark form flitting here and there. However, by the Swan Lake, the birds were easy to watch. I saw many Yellow Rumped Warblers, several Swamp, House and Chipping Sparrows, and countless Red Winged Blackbirds, Robins, Starlings, Swallows and Great Tailed Grackles.
Even though I have seen many Pileated Woodpeckers before, I am always just as awed by their magnificence each time. The one pictured below was on the smaller side of the ones I have seen, but still it's size and colors are striking in the bird world! It was truly incredible to watch this large bird hammer the base of this termite infested tree with such precision and coordination and power. It's must have hammered at least 20 times a second, and the hollow sound reverberated through the forest. With such a large presence, this bird commands a lot of respect in the forest world--there were no other birds in the vicinity. The Pileated Woodpecker is a pretty solitary bird, and when it flies, it has such a slow, gliding flight, it almost doesn't look like a bird at all!
Shirley is pretty much under voice control now, so I let her off her leash in the quiet parts of the trail. Enjoying her new freedom, Shirley was tearing around and around the path ahead and behind us. Here, she reluctantly, but obediently comes at my command and moments after this picture, raced off again, crashing through the forest, and reducing my hopes of seeing wildlife significantly.
On a small island in the middle of Swan Lake, a family of turtles bathed in the first truly warm day of the year. Monica and I counted over thirty spread over this island and the bank of the pond just from where we were standing! 
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