Astonishing what can be seen sitting idly by a window sipping coffee. A pileated* woodpecker, magnificent in all of its black and white and red glory, scuttled over a low-hanging silver-maple branch in the neighbor’s back yard, pausing every...

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Astonishing what can be seen sitting idly by a window sipping coffee. A pileated* woodpecker, magnificent in all of its black and white and red glory, scuttled over a low-hanging silver-maple branch in the neighbor’s back yard, pausing every few seconds to peck the bark. Flitting to a higher perch, the wide wing span flashed black and white. After five years at this residence, seeing the big bird was a first. They are reclusive, but not uncommon in urban areas, according to on-line sources. Our neighborhood of 30 houses abuts a wooded ravine, where, I am assuming, the woodpecker usually resides.

Pileated woodpeckers were also sighted earlier in December, while hiking with Mike at Buzzard’s Roost Nature Preserve. Even there, in a place where I might expect to see or hear one, they took my breath away. What a bird.

Priyanka Kumar, writing of repeated tanager sightings in her essay collection, Conversations With Birds: ‘When we allow ourselves to truly see the natural world we live in, we once again claim kinship with birds and other animals.’ Yes, claiming kinship. When my sister sees a heron, she thinks of me, and when I see a hawk, she comes to mind. We report to each other our sightings, delighting in these marvelous flying creatures who help to keep us close in spirit.

Thank you, Ellen, for the gift of Kumar’s lovely book; a perfect Winter Solstice offering—

*Pronounced ‘PIE(as in apple pie)-lee-ay-ted.’

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