Immersed in the spring forest: watching a pileated woodpecker nest

As spring arrives in full force across the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, I invite you to take a few minutes to immerse yourself in the sounds and happenings of a spring black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) forest along the Clark Fork River near Missoula, Montana, USA. This is part two in a three-part series following a pair of nesting pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus). In this episode, I track them from the end of cavity excavation in late April through the nestling stage in mid-June.This story features wildlife photographers Lea Frye (https://leaf-images.com/) and Rachel Ritacco (https://www.ritaccophotography.com/), who accompanied me on one of my visits to the pileated woodpecker nest. As usual, the podcast includes an abundance of audio I recorded in the field, including various cuts of pileated woodpeckers as well as sounds of American robin (Turdus migratorius), tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis), northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis), northern house wren (Troglodytes aedon), wind in the cottonwoods, and May rain.As always, I depend on the support of my listeners to continue doing this work. Please share these podcasts, leave a rating, and, if you’re able, support me through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wildwithnature. Thank you!!!You can find the written, illustrated version of this story here: https://wildwithnature.com/2025/05/01/pileated-woodpecker-nest/