Very large woodpecker

When i saw large...... it had been described to us as a "small penguin" and at first I thought the guy who said that was exaggerating -- until I saw it.

this thing was HUGE. Possibly 3 feet in length, and when it took flight, a wing span of 4-5' !!

I did a google for Large Woodpecker, but the only one that really came up was the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, but i dont think that was it.

DH does the "coffee clutch" with the old timers in the morning (old timers being the men who have been in this RV park for many years) and they told my DH the name of it, and he was thinking it started with a "P" and originated in the Carolinas......

any idea what this woodpecker is? obviously i did not have my camera with me as i didnt expect to see it (ever) -- and as soon as it saw me, it took off... so i didnt get the best look at it.... but i do not recall any white on it's back, like the Ivory Billed.... it just looked like a small penguin on the side of a tree.

I'll keep trying a search to see what i can dig up....

TIA,

Terese

ps -- Oh this is in the Wisconsin Dells area

Could it be a Pileated Woodpecker, not as large as you described , but large none the less.
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Pileated_Woodpecker.html

I was sitting out on the patio having my morning coffee and i heard this "whooshing" sound of wings... i looked up and there he was again.

i have to admit i overly exaggerated the size the first time i saw him/her..... watching it fly and then land on a nearby tree..... it is around 20" long/tall and the wing span its about 2.5-feet (give or take)
mostly likely in all my excitement of finally seeing it (a few weeks ago)... i just saw this enormous bird - as it happened so quickly - my minds eye saw something much larger.....

it is still a HUGE bird... but obviously not as large as i originally thought.

thanks for the above link..... the Pileated wood-pecker does look very similar to this one up here... I'll have to keep an eye out for it again. I do think it's "home" is nearby.

I've had that experience before, too - thought something was larger than it was because it caught me by surprise. Still great fun to spot one of those guys! If you ever get a pic, please share!

My dad is a big bird watcher and sees pileated woodpeckers an hour north of you much more often nowadays.

They are such great looking wp's I would love to see one.

Al,

thanks for that info.... up here, i just thought it was some sort of "mutant" because it's so large and not from this area.

Murmur -- if i ever happen to "catch" it... i'll certainly post it.

terese

I know the feeling. I just posted pictures of a baby, and it is a very large bird.

trois

I've spent most of this summer up here in Wisc [Lake Delton] and about a month ago, i saw the Woodpecker again... it was on the ground eating something... i was walking the dog, so i didnt wanna go back and spook it.

Didn't think of it again until this evening... i had the pooch out and saw it really big black bird hop onto a tree about a foot off the ground. Not sure what it was, i watched it for a while, knowing it didnt look like a black bird or a crow... then i saw the huge red head.... i debated for a while before i got my camera, as it took me a few minutes to get it, lock up the pooch and get back out there.... it was on a lot about 100' from the back of my lot.

IT heard me coming, and flew to another tree farther away... it was flying only about 4 feet off the ground.... stunning bird. The coloring is so gorgeous. It got onto the back side of a tree where i could no longer see it, and since it was dusk and i was so far away... it did not show up in the few photos i tried to take.

then - as i turned to walk away.... it let out a long 'call', which sounded so much like a human laugh... I thought to myself.... how ironic, he's playing hide and seek and laughing at me when i gave up.

so -- i know it's still around, though i do not see it often... but holy cow... what a sight.

Do a search for the Piliated woodpecker. I have found a picture and sound of the call.

thanks Iris ... last year when i first saw and ID'd this gorgeous guy.... i did an intensive search, after i found out it's identification.

when i get home [where i have high speed] i'll re-research it for it's call. it was just so cool.

Terese --

I grew up with these beautiful "Woody Woodpecker" birds in the Pacific Northwest where they (Pileated Woodpeckers) are also known as Woodsmen of the North. When they peck, it is not the ratatattattat of the smaller woodpeckers. It is a thunk, thunk, thunk, like someone hammering in a large nail. Then, the hole it leaves is square to trapezoidal, and not round. As to its size, I am sure you were thinking in centimeters instead of inches. Glad you got to see one. I've never seen one here in Arizona, not even in the high country part of the state where it is alpine spruce, fir, and ponderosa pine.

Rex

We have them here in Virginia too. I hear them in the deep woods but rarely see them up close. Here is one I saw a couple of years ago. I was so close (about 10 feet) I couldn't get his whole body in the frame. I was focusing on the eye.

Thats an outstannding shot Dave! I'd love to see one some day.

Here is a link to Martin's smugmug site that I picked up from the other forum. Martin lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, and has some of the best Pilliated WP shots I have ever seen.

Rex is certainly correct. They are much more abundant in the Northwest.

http://martind.smugmug.com/keyword/pileated%20woodpecker#P-1-24

Rex
>>As to its size, I am sure you were thinking in centimeters instead of inches.

oh, no -- i was thinking inches... but then the very first time i saw it, it was flying, and looked ENORMOUS.... nice big wing span.

now that i've seen it up closer, i see my errrrrr in my ways.

and i have also seen one of the trees it used to live in ...as you said, HUGE hole.

and now that i know the 'call' it makes .... i'm hearing it daily now.

The pileated's wingspan is enormous, so I can see how you thought the bird was so big.

I get them all the time, probably because I back to woods. I even got to see the young ones this year and get fed by the parent(s). It is so funny how honored you feel when they bring their young ones by your feeders :)

They like suet just like other woodpeckers, in case anyone is interested in trying to attract them. In fact, there's a new suet feeder out designed just for them, by Duncraft.

I'd hate to see the size of those cakes!!

They fit regular sized cakes, it just has a long "tail prop" below the cake holding area. Apparently woodpeckers use their tail against the tree to help them balance(?), so this feeder has a long piece of wood below the cake cage so they are more comfortable.

See here: http://www.duncraft.com/Duncraft-Pileated-Tail-Prop-Feeder-P2025C145.aspx

I have one with a long tail prop. Have you seen the feeder that carries the giant sized cakes of suet? I like it.

http://www.duncraft.com/EZ-Fill-Deluxe-Suet-Block-Feeder-P2834C35.aspx

This message was edited Sep 16, 2008 8:31 AM

That one looks like you might have to clean it :) [horizontal surface would get yucky]

Any feeder I buy has to be really easy to clean, which rules out most. I have a lovely wood chalet type feeder, and it even has a bottom that comes off for cleaning. However, it is the first to get yucky after a rain, and the corners are impossible to clean.

I'm apparently a very picky person :)