dad and me, Winchester hill in the background
It was so early and the last day of the archery season in PA, I didn't want to spoil my dad's hunt. So I dropped my gear, and took my bird back to the truck, grabbed my camera bag, and made my way back up Winchester. On the way up, I ran into a flock of dark-eyed juncos and black-capped chickadees
Black-capped chickadee
everything was still covered in frost on my way back up
"the tunnel" an overhang of eastern hemlocks on the "Winchester Trail"
this is about the halfway mark on the mountain
This memorial to a friend can be found at the spring at the top of Winchester
There are three beech trees at the spring with initials on them, this being the most scarred. In the middle of the carved graffitti you can see EJ '64, my great grandfather. The oldest date on the tree.
It took me about an hour and a half to get to the truck and back, which my I found surprising. Me and dad wondered through the woods on Winchester all morning,
Dad leading the way. I love how the snow gets thicker the higher you climb. It was a beautiful day on the mountain!!!
We ran into a few NICE buck rubs. This was one of the less impressive rubs we saw that day, notice the size of tree this monster gouged!?
It was around 11 a.m. by the time we decided to sit and have lunch. We found a good spot on a point where we could see a good distance, and keep watch for any deer. Being this close to a good rub line, I had my camera ready, and dad was on gaurd with his "Fox" recurve. We sat on the point for quite some time, the same location that I harvested my first turkey when I was 12. While there we observed quite a few species of birds. White-breasted nuthatches, blue jays, hairy woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees, a red-tailed hawk, and red-bellied woodpeckers all made an appearance.
Hairy woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
(note the black line separating the red patch on the head, which the similar downy woodpecker lacks)
Hairy woodpecker
Blue jay
Last Saturday was absolutely a success, I got a nice bird, a few pictures that didn't turn out half bad, and spent some time hanging out with dad, the way we enjoy it.
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