Pileated Woodpecker

We have an old dead stump in the back yard and for the second year, we had a Pileated Woodpecker banging away at it. Boy, the debris really flies when they are at work after those ants.  What made this year different was that there were a total of 3 of these amazing birds in the area at the same time.  Two were just hanging out on a nearby tree, while the biggest one,,, I assume the male,,, attacked the stump with much enthusiasm.  VERY interesting to watch.

That's great. I remember years ago when they were all over the place. Now it's pretty rare to spot one

We were fortunate to see just one Pileated Woodpecker when we were camp hosting at Heyburn State Park in Idaho.  Amazing sight!  Looked just like Woody Woodpecker, but better because it had nature's coloring at its best.

Woodpeckers are cute until they start working on your house. Peg's son is always patching holes in the cedar siding on their place in Flagstaff.

Even the smaller woodpeckers wreak havoc on houses.  When we lived in Redding, CA we were constantly battling Downy Woodpeckers who would bury their acorn stash under the shingles which capped the roof line on our second story.  Popping acorns loose is like trying to avoid ball bearings while maintaining balance high in the air walking across a roof.

My husband, and I live in a very rural area, and walk everyday on a road with woods on both side. You can hear, and see both the big pileated woodpeckers, and the small woodpeckers.
I enjoy seeing, and hearing them, and I will continue to unless they start messing with my house.

Are you sure it isn't an Ivory Billed Woodpecker?

SeilerBird said:

Are you sure it isn't an Ivory Billed Woodpecker?

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If it is, I hope they get some GOOD pictures of it!

Many yellow bellied woodpeckers at my suet feeders everyday here in SE PA. Also the smaller white and black ones. Eastern Bluebirds have nested in my birdhouse on the deck, 4 eggs.

Positively a Pileated Woodpecker,,,, just looked at a picture of the Ivory Billed one and it would not be easy to mix those two up.

Peteyboy said:

Positively a Pileated Woodpecker,,,, just looked at a picture of the Ivory Billed one and it would not be easy to mix those two up.

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That was a joke Pete, the IBW is extinct. If it was an IBW you would be rich.

We had several pileated woodpeckers (Woody) where we used to live.  I just loved to watch them swooping through the woods.

Got it Tom,,,, a little slow here.  Like to have you here to take their pictures though.

The Ivory Bill may not be extinct:

http://www.audubon.org/news/possible-ivory-billed-woodpecker-footage-breathes-life-extinction-debate

That's why I said get GOOD pics. I would be nice if they aren't extinct and livin' the good life where they won't be bothered.

We have pileated woodpeckers that frequent our backyard and we do enjoy watching them.    When I took some large trees out of our yard a few years ago the tree cutters couldn't believe that I wanted to keep one not too large dead tree.  When the woodpeckers come, that is the tree that they go to.  That tree looks like it has been machine-gunned!! This year we have a nest of Cooper hawks in the top of a tree in our yard and haven't seen a pileated woodpecker yet.

We have been camping at Jekyll Island, Georogia in the winter for about 15+ years.  Years ago the pileated woodpeckers would come into the campground trees in very large numbers.  They had a habit of landing on vehicle side mirrors and pecking them until they broke.  I have seen two woodpeckers break mirrors and know of several more.  The campground warned campers on check-in and put a warning on the campground map/flyer.  Not so many pileated woodpeckers there anymore but the old timers still put bags on their side mirrors and some make custom covers.  Haven't heard of a mirror being broken in years but the warning is still on the campground map.

Every few years we camp at Stephen Forster State Park in the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia in March.  There are loads of pileated woodpeckers there!  We camped there last March and there seemed more than ever!  Then the swallow tail kites showed up and put on some fantastic air shows as they picked insects out of the air.  Also, everywhere you looked was a red tailed hawk sitting on a limb watching for moving food! A great bird watching spot!

I have noticed a Red Tailed hawk cruising the skies over the house lately,,, do they go after other birds, or just animals on the ground ?

Yes, they will eat other birds. I have seen them take down a few pigeons here at work.

RVfixer said:

Every few years we camp at Stephen Forster State Park in the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia in March.  There are loads of pileated woodpeckers there!  We camped there last March and there seemed more than ever!  Then the swallow tail kites showed up and put on some fantastic air shows as they picked insects out of the air.  Also, everywhere you looked was a red tailed hawk sitting on a limb watching for moving food! A great bird watching spot!

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Stephen Foster SP is one of my favorites. I have a tall bald cypress tree that the pileated WP have put half a dozen large holes in and a nest of Hawks with 2 young in an oak tree the back yard. A pair of Mallards come by often for feed and we have 6 deer and an otter that we see weekly. All this in our back yard.

If you see happen to see a woodpecker the size of a large Muscovy duck, (black and white with red on top) DO NOT tell anyone. They would not believe it anyway. That would be comparable to saying you saw a UFO ...or worse.

We have them here where we live (the Ocala National Forest in Fl). The pine and oak forest is a happy hunting ground for them. The common woodpeckers do a  quick rata-tata-tat, while the big Pileated go Thud. Thud. Thud. Like a guy with a hammer knocking on the tree.

Lots of red tail hawks and ospreys too, and the occasional bald eagle. Sand Hill Cranes are common as well.

Peteyboy said:

I have noticed a Red Tailed hawk cruising the skies over the house lately,,, do they go after other birds, or just animals on the ground ?

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Our pair of Hawks have run off the snail kites and swallow tailed kites and even saw them take on an Eagle that flew too close to their nest. The vultures keep them busy with their constant cruising the sky. We had a Barred Owl land on the ledge of our porch window last night, thinking it was after one of our abundant Cuban Tree Frogs.

The one thing we dont have here are the Sand Hill Cranes that Tom (Seilerbird) has. We are trying to make up for it with the Blue Herons that visit.