I welcomed a couple unexpected guests to my back yard last week. A pair of beautiful, Pileated Woodpeckers. They swooped in to check on one of our 50-year-old maples, pecked here and there and sailed away. I expect they were shopping for a nesting site.
About 20 years ago, I had a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers that nested in one of my trees in an old hollowed out place for two straight years, but nothing since. The tree they inspected is getting older (aren’t we all?) but it wasn’t to their exact specifications.
With flashing black-and-white wings and a bright red crest, the Pileated Woodpecker is the largest of the North American woodpeckers. The term “pileated” by the way derives from the Latin pileatus, meaning “capped” and the bird’s bright crest explains the name.
Woody Woodpecker of cartoon fame was inspired by the Pileated Woodpeckers. His sketched topknot is a duplicate of the real thing.
The Pileated Woodpecker’s main requirement is large trees, including those that are dead and dying. They “drum” on these hollow trees with their bills to establish territory and attract mates, and will live in and defend their territories year-round.
Maybe my “Woody Woodpeckers” will be back, but probably not.
By the way, the sighting of the Pileated Woodpeckers and the arrival of grackles take my backyard bird count for the year to 27. How many types have you seen?