Returning down Jacques-Cartier from my walk up to Highway #307 late yesterday afternoon, I saw what looked like the same Pileated Woodpecker I’d seen there a couple of months ago. Just like before, he was pecking away at a telephone pole, in search of God knew what. But this time, he had a partner–another Pileated waiting for him at one of the mini-landings that adorn Jacques-Cartier. While the two obviously knew each other, they didn’t seem quite like a full-fledged couple. So what were they, then? Tree-tapping buddies? Siblings? Perhaps even a gay Pileated couple? All I know is that when they flew off, they were quite majestic in their modest way, even though both seemed on the small side for Pileateds. And that both the birds and my contemplation of what might have been their relationship to one another greatly enlivened an otherwise mundane walk.
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