My Hike in The Woods

After lunch today I went on a hike in the woods with hopes of finding wildlife. Last week, I saw a crayfish in the creek for what is likely the first time. I’ve seen a crayfish before, but not in the creek in our woods. It was a surprisingly nice day, much warmer than I thought and barely any clouds. I thought that a mourning dove might have been nesting in the gutters above my window, so that was the first place I looked on my hike. However there was nothing there but they are surely nesting very close. As I went further into the woods towards the hawk’s nest I saw the hawk land on a nearby tree overlooking the field to the west. The field is perfect for mice to hide, but red winged black birds also nest there. So a little later the hawk was being mobbed by a single red winged black bird. It occasionally screeched, probably trying to scare the red winged black bird away. Normally, a bird of its size would never challenge a red tailed hawk, but red winged black birds are extremely territorial. While I was walking to I didn’t see much wildlife but there were clear signs of woodpeckers. There was a completely dead tree, all grey with beige accents, covered with holes. I also saw a deer trail, and it was clear that it was used often. When I reached the confluence there were beautiful purple flowers, likely lavender or sage, minnows, and a wood frog. The water was a little warmer than cold tap water, maybe the same. There were also what I thought were lavender with bees which I was able to get some pictures of. You could tell that a rainstorm would really make the drainage creek into a small river because of the visible erosion. It was about 3 to 4 feet high. I heard the rapid pounding of a pileated woodpecker, but I didn’t want to try to find it because it was coming from someone’s property that we don’t know. On my way back I decided to check if the hawk was still there. At the edge of the field there was a large toad I was able to get some pictures, but it was much harder than the wood frog. The red tailed hawk was still there, and so was the red winged black bird mobbing the hawk. There was also a male red bellied woodpecker on the same tree but on a different branch. The mourning dove pair was also back at the feeder, but as soon as I looked at them they fled. Even when they were in the tree they fled to a farther branch about 2 more times. Later around sunset I saw a pileated woodpecker. I noticed that its call was very rapid and beep like. It did this when it took off and landed on a tree somewhat like a mourning dove. Mourning doves always make a fast, almost puffy, sound when they take off. The highlight was definitely the tree frog though. I have never seen a frog jump out of water, only into water.