We hadn't been to Jack Pine trail since last fall so it was time to check it out. Since we had last been there the NCC had repaired the boardwalk in several places . Thank you NCC
The raccoons and coyotes had been using the new boardwalks to get around based on the tracks we could see in the newly fallen snow. (Coyote paw print in middle left of second photo)
The pussy willows were appearing. An oak leaf had impaled itself as it had tried to reach the ground.
There were few birds around until the end of the trail. A mourning dove was on the trail and a cardinal was singing high up in the top of a tree
And a pair of hairy woodpeckers were hammering away. The male was easier to see.
As shown in the second photo, the bird's body is perfectly still while all the hammering motion is in the neck and head.
He then flew down to some much softer wood at the base of a dead tree and got right into it
We found the source of the raccoon paw prints, they were in a hollow tree that we often wondered who makes use of the perfect hideaway. Today it was the raccoons. I managed to get quite close for the second photo
