Two-Story Treehouse Condo Near the Beach…Still Under Construction!

Pileated Woodpecker

In this, my first installment of a nature blog for Portfolio Magazine following our series in the recent Blue Issue, I thought I would switch my gaze from far-off Arctic regions to nature closer to home.

When I stand outside my house the first thing I see is an oak tree, several, in fact. These craggy giants with their deeply fissured trunks, and gnarled and meandering branches evoke an ancient world, a world that slowly reveals itself to those who take the time to stop awhile and take it all in. The trees are part of what was once an extensive coastal live oak forest that stretched along the Atlantic seaboard. At this time of year, birdsongs fill the canopy as migrating warblers and other avian travelers vie with resident cardinals, catbirds and jays for a place in the choir. My eyes are constantly drawn to movement in the canopy and in the direction of sound.

Just the other day, I heard the unmistakable deep knocking sound of a pileated woodpecker at work. This magnificent crow-sized bird, America’s largest woodpecker, is typically heard but not seen. By doing so it breaks a golden rule of my grandmother’s. She felt very strongly that little boys should be seen but not heard! I soon located the busy animal in a tree close to my house and discovered two sizable holes had been excavated. It appeared further renovations might be underway. I took a quick photo, ran back to the house for a charged battery (isn’t it always the way!?!) to find upon my return that one of the cavities was occupied. Another photo. (See the composite shot here.) As well as the pileated and our quite common red-bellied our oak woods are home to a number of other woodpecker species including the diminutive downy woodpecker. I’ll keep you posted as to whether we have a nesting pair.

ABOUT GREG

Before coming to FAU’s Harbor Branch, Greg earned both his bachelor’s degree and his doctorate degree from University College Dublin in Ireland, researching badgers, a small mammal related to weasels, minks and otters. So, how did he end up in Florida researching whales thousands of miles away? Once Greg graduated with his doctorate degree, he moved to California in search of jobs. After facing several rejections, one person at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in San Diego said he had a small project on belugas no one was working on. He was shocked at such a unique opportunity to work with marine mammals. “I pounced on that,” he says. “And the rest, as they say, is history.”