I took about 20 pictures to get this one, cropped to get just him. He came to the log in my backyard about a dozen times. I kept trying to hide behind the shed and peek around the side, but he's too smart for that. Every time I came in to down-load pictures, he'd come back. Must be a feast under that log.
Oh your so lucky candy! Great job on the pic; I love the Pileated Woodpeckers.
He's so handsome!
Terrific shot....lucky you to have them come down into your yard.
Thanks. It was really exciting to see him. He comes around fairly frequently, but not into my yard. We see him far up in the trees, or hear him. He's very noisy.
I have seen a pair around here that land on the power pole occasionally. I think I would faint if they came down in my tree after the suet.
Very nice picture Candy, I had the pleasure of seen one, for 1 season in my backyard. That was a few years ago. They are awesome birds. Congratulation
Hi, I just joined DG tonight, headed straight to this forum to share my excitement while watching a Pileated in the park this afternoon... I'm delighted to find that I wasn't the only one this magnificent creature brought joy to today!
Hi Sugar, Welcome to Daves and the Bird Watching forum!
Congratulations on the seeing the Pileated!
Oh yeah!!!! A new member of the Pileated Club!! Great shot candy!
GP, if I didn't faint after a over a year waiting for that bird, neither would you. Though my heart raced all day after that. Thought I was going to have to cal my cardiologist for awhile ! lol
SugarSnap you are gonna love it here at Dave's...and the Birdwatching Forum is wonderful!!
I have one living in the woods behind my house. An ice storm about a year and half ago left quite a bit of carnage in my woods, and all the woodpeckers seem to be having the times of their lives now that the bugs have infested all the downed limbs and cracked trunks. I'll have to get a camera with a much longer lens than I have now to get a picture of our pileated. He's one shy character.
Please do Jeff...we welcome all new posters and their bird pics.
Everyone, thanks for your comments and sharing my excitement. That's what I love about Dave's
This is indeed a great spot! I've spent most of my time on another forum, but I'm very glad I took the time to wander over here. I've had great fun doing a little "lurking".
That's a wonderful Pileated shot! I've only seen them in the yard a couple times, and never very close or for very long.
Oh yeah!!!! A new member of the Pileated Club!! Great shot candy!
I'm wishing for you Mrs. Ed!
not gonna happen here. If you look at the map, there is a strange big hole where I live! If I want to see it, I have to go somewhere else. Along the Mississippi or Illinois Rivers.
Possibly not enough dense forest, or dead trees, Mrs. Ed. Maybe erect one of those cell phone towers in your yard that are decorated to look like spruces!
The map in Sibley doesn't show that hole. Maybe it has filled in during recent years.
Resin
Well THAT would be good news! I checked the backyard bird count this year for some towns around me that might have sightings, but didn't find any very close.
We've got a lake house north of Houston near a national forest - an area of huge mature piney woods. (This ecosystem in Texas is called the Piney Woods!) Those birds are an awesome sight. Mrs_Ed - I hope you see some one of these days.
That's a cool picture, Candy! Thanks for sharing.
We had a family of woodpeckers in our neighborhood that I just moved away from (only about 5 miles away from here). One was HUGE! I don't know which type they are but I am pretty sure they are the same as this one. Since we moved in January I have seen one in the big Oak tree in our back yard, but the coolest thing was when one actually perched on the screen on our back porch. Why it did that I will never know but my son and I were amazed when we looked out the window and saw that. Thank goodness it didn't damage the screen. I have tried and tried to get pictures of the birds that I see but never with success. I would be so proud of that picture that you got!
tikijenn - wow - the pileated woodpeckers are huge - I don't know like 12" - I need to check my book for exact measurement. If it's the biggest woodpecker you've ever seen - then this one is it! Wow - on your back porch!
Like a big prehistoric woodpecker. Somewhere on the birdwatching forum someone posted a picture of a pileated against another woodpecker. It was very illuminating.
Pileated compared to Red-bellied
Oh yes, it was nanny
Oh nanny. That's a great comparison. Does anyone have a pileated with someone smaller like a downy?
Love that Pileated/Red-Bellied picture! I've noticed that every evening about the same time, I can hear a Pileated calling.
Mrs. Ed. I think it helps that we live near a wooded area with dead trees in it. (Including in my back yard.) We have older white pines that are slowly dying for some reason. I would suggest hanging a suet feeder (like in the comparison picture) sort of high up on the trunk of a large tree and watching in the early morning and early evening. Those are to two times of day I have actually seen them. I've seen pictures several times where a Pileated is visiting suet hung on a tree trunk. They are very shy of movement of any kind (as are all the wood peckers we get here.)
This is not a great shot...a little blurry, but it shows it with a Downy.
Haha, That shows the enormous size difference well nanny!
Edited for spelling
This message was edited May 31, 2008 1:57 PM
Yah, that downy is the size of the Pileated's HEAD.
Wooh! Wonder what that downy is thinking.
Wooh! Wonder what that downy is thinking
You go. No, that's okay. You go. No, you go . . . . .
Thanks for making me laugh you guys.
I hope I didn't mislead you guys about the woodpecker in my back yard. The huge one was definitely the pileated after seeing the comparison that Nanny posted. The one that perched on my screen was rather small. I just didn't want anyone to think that I was 'telling a tale'. I would love to be able to get the pictures that you people have gotten!
I was wondering if you meant the Pileated...and if you had a screen left! lol
I guess today was a good for Pileated sightings - I saw my first one today on accident when I was taking pictures of a group of cormorants on a power line. I didn't even notice him until I got home and looked at my pics and there he was on one of the power poles! Not a great shot but it'll do
Cormorants on a power line? Good grief, how big are your power lines ?
Congrats!
LOL, yeah, I couldn't believe it either. There were at least 40 of them. They congregate every evening on a power line that runs over a lake. The woodpecker almost looked as big as them!
I'll post the cormorants on another thread so I don't hijack this one :)
Edited to add: cormorant photos posted under daily pics vol 116
This message was edited Jun 10, 2008 3:22 PM
