Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) is an industrious little bird that frequents parks and woodlots throughout much of North America. While often spotted at backyard feeders with similarly sized chickadees and nuthatches, this black-and-white woodpecker is also at home on tiny branches where it can be seen acrobatically foraging for insect larvae. Roger Tory Peterson described this bird’s call as “a rapid whinny of notes, descending in pitch.” Keep an eye and an ear out for this charismatic little bird; its striking plumage, shrill song and tree-trunk tapping should...
Read MoreWhite Squirrel
One of the most familiar backyard creatures we have in the eastern part of the United States is the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). They are on our trees, robbing our bird feeders, “begging” for a snack in the park, but they are not always all the same. Some areas have local populations of melanistic, leucistic, or albino squirrels, and in some cases, these black or white appearances seem to possibly even be a color morph. I photographed this squirrel last week, and its dark (not red) eyes suggest it is not an albino even though it looked so very white. Such a...
Read MoreCommon Milk Frog (Trachycephalus venulosus)
What a spectacular view of this Common Milk Frog (Trachycephalus venulosus) by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser.
Read MoreHairy Woodpecker
It seems like things are looking up for this Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)! Sorry, that was pretty bad…but she’s a pretty underrated and quite pretty bird!
Read MoreLooking Up
The day after this tree was photographed all of the leaves were gone, blasted away by the wind on one of those maddening October days that steal some of our foliage. Nevertheless, that is part of why we love the four seasons and their sometimes very temporary magnificence.
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