Mammoth Woodpecker!!!

[Care4all]

I just love the wildlife that shows up in my yard.

This is a Pileated Woodpecker

It can be 20 inches in length...this one looks like it could be close to such, because the dead pine tree it is building its home in is about 30 inches in diameter.

I have seen both male and female companions before, and have gotten in a pic or two of them, but this time, I was taking pictures of them from inside the house through a window.

They mate for life, and keep the same territory for life, so i guess i should expect to see them around for a while....

They have a young one, that is spotted in mostly a brown color, with no red showing up yet on the head....we spotted it this summer where it was maybe a foot long, but i saw it yesterday in the same area of these pics of one of its parents and it is AT LEAST 20 inches LONG.....now!

All About Birds: Pileated Woodpecker

Cool Facts

The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.


A Pileated Woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round. It will defend the territory in all seasons, but will tolerate floaters during the winter.


The feeding excavations of a Pileated Woodpecker are so extensive that they often attract other birds. Other woodpeckers, as well as House Wrens, may come and feed there.


The Pileated Woodpecker prefers large trees for nesting. In young forests, it will use any large trees remaining from before the forest was cut. Because these trees are larger than the rest of the forest, they present a lightning hazard to the nesting birds.

you can barely see the woodpecker on the left hand side of the tree...but what you CAN SEE is the damage the woodpeckers have done to this old, dead, pine tree that we have not had cut down...

this was about 100 feet from the window i was at...

 

[Care4all]

 

[dilloduck]

damn---I thought it would have a trunk and be hairy j/k

nice pics !!

 

[DavidS]

Don't let it anywhere near USAirlines flights!

 

[Care4all]

a couple more pics

here is a pic of it this past october before all the leaves fell. there is a red squirrel on the tree in front of it...

 

[dilloduck]

Let a city girl out in the country and you never know what's going to happen .

 

[RodISHI]

Great pictures thank you for sharing!

 

[PoliticalChic]

Sometimes we get one in the front yard and he makes a lot of noise. Sounds like a jackhammer. Nice pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Care4all]

Sometimes we get one in the front yard and he makes a lot of noise. Sounds like a jackhammer. Nice pics. Thanks for sharing.

the link i gave for this woodpecker has a link where u can listen to each bird;s songs and sounds....it's cool!

 

[strollingbones]

great pics....i have seen one..or two of them....not like that ..however...thanks

 

[PoliticalChic]

the link i gave for this woodpecker has a link where u can listen to each bird;s songs and sounds....it's cool!

That is cool! I've bookmarked it so we can use it with the kids. I think the one I heard was much noisier. I'll have to look in the tree next time and take a good look and maybe even a picture.

 

[editec]

They are damned impressive birds, aren't they?

FYI for those of you tring to get a sense of their actual size?

They are about the size of crows.

When they go into woodpeckering mode you can hear them for miles in the deep woods.

 

[dilloduck]

They are damned impressive birds, aren't they?

FYI for those of you tring to get a sense of their actual size?

They are about the size of crows.

When they go into woodpeckering mode you can hear them for miles in the deep woods.

a couple of em nearly ate my sister's house

 

[Care4all]

I don't think you guys can comprehend how BIG this woodpecker is...?

HONESTLY! (Editec did recognized it's size and beauty....)

Well, I found this picture I took of the pine tree this wood pecker is on earlier in the year, to keep track of all the holes this pair have escavated....my husband was just a foot or two behind this tree in a close up picture, that can give you an idea of how huge the tree really is which then gives you a better idea of HOW BIG this bird really is...!

 

[editec]

Until one actually sees one of these bird, it's rather hard to get an idea of how impressive they really are, I think.

I think they stand about a foot tall.

I don't doubt if one were so inclined it could easily peck through you cranium in a minute or two.

Not that they would of course, but they're certainly equipped to to ruin your day if they choose such a lifestyle.