Hi all, Earlier in the spring I'd stumbled across a pileated nest hole in the Mulholland Wildflower Preserve, but wasn't sure whether it would disturb them too much to share with the list. I watched excavation, passed a long period of not seeing any activity, had moments of "quick exchange" where one parent flew in with a squawk as the second egressed and flew off while the first entered the hole presumably to incubate, and last weekend parked myself in a folding chair to watch the 2 minutes of active feeding that happens between about 30 minutes of silent inactivity. Yesterday morning I saw for the first time one of the little heads extended out of the hole even when not feeding, so I think now starts a (possibly short) window of great viewing before the little ones fledge.
To find the nest, follow the trail from the parking lot for about 100 yards until the first sharp bend in the trail next to the creek. From here the trail follows a wide arc; proceed about 30 yards and you'll pass two (maple?) trees each with a thin girdle cut at about chest level, first on the right then on the left. Standing by the one on the left facing down the trail, the nest tree is about 30 feet ahead and 20 feet to the left: a dead tree that's lopped off at about 40 feet. The nest hole is about 4 feet from the top, facing to the left (there's another hole near at the very top). Photographers may (?) prefer the afternoon, as the vantage tends to face the morning sun. Happy viewing! and if you're lucky you might be visited by one of the competing louisiana waterthrushes or several redstarts that hang out in that area. Suan _____________________ http://suan-yong.com/ -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
