I have really been enjoying the cool mornings this week.
The weather prognosticators are promising more of the same for the next week…We even hit a low of 59° yesterday morning just as the sun came up…Nice.
It has been great sitting out with my first cup as the sun comes up each day. Monday and Tuesday were cool enough to leave the doors open all day long.
This morning I had come in for a second cup and to read the morning email when I heard the laugh of a Pileated Woodpecker outside. Over the past few years their loud raucous laughing call has become more common around this neighborhood. But the call this morning sounded especially close…So much so that I stepped out on the back stoop to see if I could spot the bird. Sure enough, there it was right over the roof of the kitchen on a dead snag of the oak tree beside the house.
After watching a moment I realized this was probably as close a view of these magnificent birds as I was probably going to get. I quickly went inside and grabbed the Nikon. Even with the 200mm lens the bird was really small in the view-screen. But what the hey, I wasn’t going to get any closer so I fired away.
Here are a few of the better(?) captures after cropping and tweaking a bit…
For more info about Pileated Woodpeckers check out the following…
The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest North American woodpecker. Although the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is actually larger, its numbers (Ivory-billed) are such that it is considered near or at extinction.
Description
Measuring 16-19 inches long with a red crest and black bill. You’ll find these birds in mature forest with large trees.
The male Pileated has a red patch at the base of the bill whereas the female has a black patch at the base of the bill.
The territory of these birds can be 150-200 acres. Signs of their presence can be detected by lookin for 3-6 inch holes in trees.
Using suet feeders can bring them close up for a good look.
Since these birds eat carpenter ants and the ants tunnel deep into the wood, the birds will excavate a long gash in a tree to retrieve ants.
via Pileated Woodpecker and its mating, nesting, and feeding habits.
