UP IN THE TREE TOPS A WOODPECKER GOES WILDLIFE I could smell the beautiful

I could smell the beautiful sweet fragrance of the milkweed

which I did

Morning sunlight illuminates this blue vervain plant in Northern Illinois at Wildflower Park

The sun began to peek through the clouds with some color showing behind the box elder trees that line Eakin Creek West while noticing this beautiful looking cup plant (silphium perfoliatum) along the trail

UP IN THE TREE TOPS A WOODPECKER GOES WILDLIFE I could smell the beautifulThe smallest of North Americas woodpeckers, the downy woodpeckers are wide spread and common throughout their range however, they avoid the arid southwest. They are typically very active moving quickly on the branches and through the tree looking for insects. The downy and hairy woodpeckers are almost identical in plumage. The downy can be distinguished from the hairy by its smaller size and by the black dots on its white tail feathers. (523 88)