This morning I heard a deep resounding rhythm outside. I knew it could only be a Pileated Woodpecker, and he had found an especially resonant branch. This wasn't the busy sound of digging for food but clearly a commanding announcement of territory and availability. As I stepped out the back door, I spotted the bird, and an instant later another one approached from the right. It joined the first one high in a pine, and as best as I could make out through the branches and without benefit of binocs, they were gettin' busy making more pileated woodpeckers.

This would be a highlight of the day under any circumstances, but what makes it especially tantalizing is that a year or two ago I put up a nest box intended for ol' Pointy Head. It was briefly used as a roost by a screech owl last year, and otherwise has been uninhabited. Hopes are up.

Tim Rose Lilburn, Gwinnett County

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