northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's a Pileated Woodpecker I met last January. Despite not being considered common, they probably get spotted more than average: Their loud drumming and maniacal "laughter" frequently alert us that they're around. Their relatively large size is easier to spot than other woodpeckers and most forest birds. They are considered the 3rd largest species of woodpecker in the world, surpassed only by the Great Slaty Woodpecker (in Southeast Asia) and the Black Woodpecker (Europe). They used to be around the 5th largest, but the Imperial Woodpecker (Mexico) and Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Southeastern US) are now feared to be extinct. Their are actually 2 subspecies of Pileated Woodpecker, the Northern Pileated Woodpecker and the Southern Pileated Woodpecker; it sounds like the only difference is that the Northern is slightly larger on average. January 28, 2023 at Duke Farms Photo 263480291, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Grey Heron Here's a Grey Heron I met in the spring of 2022. Some people claim that this is a species that's a rare visitor from Europe, but they're all over central New Jersey. I think I saw 4-5 of them just this week!* April 20, 2022 at Duke Farms Photo 191969839, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)