Two Pileated Woodpeckers Charm A Walk on Lupin’s Cemetery Trail

Laura Lind Photo

This writer has told the story before about Lupin, the now aging, yellow labrador known for her amazing ability to understand the English language.

When we walk on the Cemetery trail, I almost always have her on her leash and carry poop bags so she can do her business on the trail conforming to all local bylaws.

On this occasion I rushed out of the house, probably because I have been neglecting my domestic duties due to, you guessed it, my devotion to the now World Series-bound Toronto Blue Jays.

My dear spouse doesn’t care to watch the Jays on the Tube, and I care for them in such an enthusiastic way I can’t fully explain.

My only experience in playing baseball was as a pre-Little League catcher at the small Court House field in Saint Andrews, N.B.   My friend, the late Michael Kohler, was our team’s main pitcher, and I had to scramble to catch his “submarine” balls.

I played and really enjoyed, much more, playing hockey, particularly on our neighborhood hockey pond.

But I digress.

On that fateful day, as I drove in the car with Lupin, or Lupee as I often call her, I had forgotten everything except my hiking boots and Lupee’s favorite banana treats, one piece to entice her into the car and another piece for the end of the walk.

When we reached the start of the trail, I saw at once that I was in trouble - no leash and no poop bags.

Nonetheless, we started up the trail, and I would signal to her with a firm hand clap when I felt she was getting too far ahead or too far behind. There were no worries, actually, we’re a pretty good duo.

Soon we came upon two large dogs. “They are friendly”, their handler assured me.

But Lupin, a smaller mortal, was not convinced and cowered a bit in their midst.

She probably looked on them critically because they are of the trendy cross-bred hypoallergenic variety, not good shedders like any good labrador which can require a great deal of in-home brushing and vacuuming.

Lupee recovered her self-confidence, and no sooner had we continued on the trail, than what should we see, not just one, but two pileated  woodpeckers.

What people lucky enough to see these very large birds (about the same size as a crow) first notice is their striking red-crested head and their strong and quite menacing beak.

But what especially delights an amateur birder like yours truly about the pileated  is its incredible black and white tail feathers. They outdo the red crest and defiant beak hands down.

Incidentally, these are much more proud and handsome birds than the Blue Jays which are very much in the news these days.

As a rule, the pileated  don’t stick around long for you to admire them. They soon fly deeper into the woods to find another rotting conifer, and resume their awe- inspiring drumming, sending large wood chips flying.

Lupin was somewhat in awe of these fleeting big oiseaux. She did not give chase and didn’t even try.

We resumed our hike, a little further apart than the leash-length of our usual walk. Without prompting, Lupee made the turn off the paved trail into the wooded area and onto the gravestones of the cemetery.

As noted in an earlier Against the Flow blog column which featured a younger Lupin, she displays her incredible ability to enjoy reading the names on the gravestones. Another possibility is that previously passing dogs have done their business among the stones and Lupee could possibly be more interested in the smells of that activity. Alternatively, I could improve the strength of her reading glasses for her older years…

Soon after we made the turn into the cemetery, Lupin went brusquely into nearby tall grass, off the beaten trail.

Mindful of the ruling on the signs in this part of the walk, that pet “faeces” should be scooped up and dealt with, and further, that dogs must always be on a leash,

I simply ignored Lupin’s business in the tall grass and went ahead on our hike.

I used the incentive of another banana treat to keep her moving down the hill, through the cemetery gates to our car.

While I wondered whether I should later expect a call from the by-law enforcement officer, we reached our small vehicle in triumph.

Like excited teenagers reaching home after an adventure, we told the story of the big dogs and the two pileated  woodpeckers. Soon after, the vacuum cleaner was working again to deal with Lupin’s ever-shedding hair.