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19 - Lander 1 19 - Lander 2 I can't believe this is my first photo walk of 2017.  The month is slipping away quickly, which some people love, because it brings us nearer to spring.  However, today was a springlike day, in some respects, so I treated myself to a walk along the C&O canal towpath, to find some woodpeckers.

19 - Lander 4 Now, to find woodpeckers, all you really have to do is listen.  The big birds, like the pileated, will drum very loudly, while smaller ones, like flickers and downies, will "talk" as they work their way up a tree trunk in search of insects.

19 - Lander 3 I walked north along the section of the canal by the Lander Lock House, near Jefferson.  I heard lots of woodpeckers drilling away, but some were across the river, and others were across the railroad tracks.  Closer to me, I could hear lots of things other than woodpeckers.  A rooster crowed about every 30 seconds.  Chickadees chirped in the treetops.  The rumble of a train far away soon gave way to blasting horns and rumbling freight cars.  A couple of women passed me on horseback -- on the first trip, they were gossiping about their ex husbands; on the return trip, they were complaining about their bosses.  They had a good gabfest while ambling along the path.

19 - Lander 5

19 - Lander 7 19 - Lander 6 I turned around at the Catoctin Aqueduct, which collapsed in 1973 and was rebuilt using the majority of its original stones; it was reopened in 2011.

On my return trip, I was finally rewarded with a nearby yellow-bellied sapsucker.  Even if I had not found a woodpecker at all, I would have been satisfied with my walk today.  It was great to get outside, enjoy the fresh air, and listen to everything going on around me.

All photos in "My Photo Walk" are available for sale upon request.