Huge Pileated Woodpecker outside my window

[bicentennial_baby]

He's stripping the bark off of the willow in our front yard, and he's huge! I don't have a camera handy, but here's a pic I found online:

[dweller]

1. We've had a pair

around here for several years. They are beautiful birds, normally reclusive and not often seen.

Have you heard it's call?
you'll never forget it once you have.

dp

[bicentennial_baby]

2. No, I haven't

He's currently hammering away like a jackhammer out there, and I don't want to open the door and accidentally disturb him. My dogs are watching woodchips hit the snow, trying to figure out where they are coming from, it's pretty amusing.

[dweller]

4. the character Woody Woodpecker

is based on the pileated. Remember his laugh?

it's not like that :)
but in comparison to other birds, during jungle movies, with the sound effects they use, remember the bird sound like
"tooki-tooki-tooki-tooki" ?

that's closer to the call, and it is loud! I would hear the ones we have local long before seeing them, in fact heard them for awhile and had no idea what it was, until i finally started seeing them.

you probably have some pine forests surrounding you? they start searching (or returning) to nesting areas around feb/march.

keep your eyes out, you'll likely see them more.
dp

[bicentennial_baby]

5. Pines on all sides

I live in rural Western MA, and am surrounded by trees! I'm psyched that we have one around, such a beautiful bird!

[SharonAnn]

3. Yes, we get one now and then. They're HUGE!

We often get the smaller ones so I forget how large the Pileated Woodpeckers are until I see one.

And when they go after the bark on a tree (we had a large, dead tree in the yard) it's not that rat-a-tat-tat that the smaller ones might make. It's Blam! Pause. Blam! Pause. Blam!

Quite something to see, you're lu7cky.

[pmbryant]

6. Way cool. I've never seen one

Not even sure we get them in Texas.

Let me check... <running to get my 'Birding Texas' reference>

Well, looks like they are "fairly common" in East Texas, but here in south central (Edwards Plateau), they didn't even merit a "rare" note.

--Peter

[greendog]

7. I've seen them a few times....

In south central Indiana they'd start showing up at the suet feeders when the temps were below zero for a while.

In north western Montana I see them on the rare occasion. Beautiful birds.

[StClone]

8. Just Think

That incredible big bird had an even lager cousin (nealy 1/4 larger). The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is now extinct. The Pileated was seen haeded the same way but hung on and rebounded to the joy of all.

[OneBlueSky]

9. years ago, I managed a campground . . .

that consisted of forty-some cottages from the 30s made of cedar . . . one day, a pair of pileated woodpeckers showed up and decided to go to work on one of the cottages . . . in no time, the had virtually removed one of the windows, pecking all around it until it damn near fell out . . . they stayed around for a couple of days, did a fair amount of damage, and then went on their merry way . . .