Ever seen a Woodpecker do this?

[sb47]

Have had 3 pairs of pileated's around me for many years.Each pair can have a pretty broad range.Also had a red headed or downey that would hammer on a speed limit sign across the road from me in the spring.He made that sign ring!

I gotta give it props for determination. That sucker would sound like a machine gun on that pipe. lol

 

[mallardman]

Had pileated woodpeckers best in a dead punky ash a couple years before it finally fell over. Cool birds.


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[husqvarna257]

Most likely going after grubs in the core. We had some big black ash in the yard and the pileated woodpeckers showed up and turned two of them into Swiss cheese. Once we cut them down we saw they were hollow and full of ants and grubs.

Woodpeckers do a public service as they will often identify trees that are totally core rotted that we assumed were healthy.

X2 on that I had an oak that I thought was weak but not as bad as it was after the pileated got in there. Right over the drive so it had to come down, otherwise I might have waited to see how long it took him. And yes the oak was full of ants.

 

[kevinlar]

The number one food source for the Pileated is black carpenter ants. I have a little Chestnut Oak that they riddled. I love them, reminds me of deer hunting in Western Maryland as a kid. They sound like a jack hammer pecking, and make a cool noise when flying. I've only seen the one pair that riddled my Oak here in Frederick MD, but we have quite a few of them on the farm in WV, Joe.

This tree was full of large carpenter ants.

 

[svk]

Have you guys ever seen carpenter ants and yellow jackets work together? They were in my garage once. Ants were extracting rotten wood from the corner and wasps were coming through the same area at the same time and building a paper nest. Weirdest thing I've ever seen.

 

[JeffGu]

Woodpeckers don't have a real birdsong... a call to attract mates or define a territory... they figured out a long time ago that they can make a hell of a lot more racket beating their peckers on stuff. They're not dumb, they don't hammer away at telephone poles and stove pipes looking for bugs. They're just telling the ladies where they are, and the other males to get the hell out of Dodge. Somewhere along the way, in modern times, they figured out that beating on glass windows magically refills the bird feeder. Ok, they're not rocket scientists, but they're certainly not dummies, either.

 

[SteveSS]

I have some pileated around here that are always cool to see. I have another bird that I can't figure out what it is though. It looks like a wood pecker, and flies in that distinctive wood pecker manner, but it has no red on the head and when it flies, the undersides of its wings are a golden honey-like color. It's pretty skittish, and by the time I get a good look at it, it's gone again. I was able to watch it a week or so ago through the front window when it was digging a small hole in the yard eating bugs. It's a really cool looking bird.

 

[USMC615]

I have some pileated around here that are always cool to see. I have another bird that I can't figure out what it is though. It looks like a wood pecker, and flies in that distinctive wood pecker manner, but it has no red on the head and when it flies, the undersides of its wings are a golden honey-like color. It's pretty skittish, and by the time I get a good look at it, it's gone again. I was able to watch it a week or so ago through the front window when it was digging a small hole in the yard eating bugs. It's a really cool looking bird.

That coloring sounds like it's in the Flicker family of woodpeckers. Very common here in mid-Ga, as well as several others, and can get quite large in comparison to other woodpeckers.

 

[svk]

Yes that's a flicker

 

[SteveSS]

And there you have it. I done went and learned something today. Thanks guys.

 

[kevinlar]

got him!

 

[cantoo]

Looks good keninlar.

 

[buzz sawyer]

The number one food source for the Pileated is black carpenter ants. I have a little Chestnut Oak that they riddled. I love them, reminds me of deer hunting in Western Maryland as a kid. They sound like a jack hammer pecking, and make a cool noise when flying. I've only seen the one pair that riddled my Oak here in Frederick MD, but we have quite a few of them on the farm in WV, Joe.

Ditto. Had the same thing done to a cherry about 18"dbh. When I dropped it, the inside was hollow and full of carpenter ants.

 

[buzz sawyer]

When my dad saw the Pileated at my house, he was shocked to see them. Thought they were nearly extinct.

Me too - from repeated concussions.

 

[JudoChop]

Funny how things happen! read this thread the other day thinking huh i've got some peckers around my property but they have yet to see them dive into any of my trees like the pics posted here (only on this property for 5 months). Well I get home from work yesterday, take the dog out and I notice a pile of wood shavings and a big hole in the base of a tree that's approx. 20 feet from my house.

was able to get close enough to grab a quick video of him in action, seems like a big guy! never uploaded a pic or vid to the site hope it works.

When I purchased this place that tree had an old tree stand in it that was starting to make the tree weep. pulled that off, you can see it in the picture on the ground. Guess the damage was already done as evidence of the pecker diving in there. Gonna be a bit of a tough one to drop with its lean and location close to the house.

 

[Snap]

We have a family of three piliated woodpeckers at the suet cage each morning lately.
It's odd because they are usually reclusive and stick to the forest around here.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

The day I buy food to feed birds that are supposed to find their own is the day I'm eating steak for supper everynight and have all brand new equipment since I guess I'll be out of things to spend money on. And even then, I think I'll go buy food for starving people and dogs.

 

[Oldman47]

The day I buy food to feed birds that are supposed to find their own is the day I'm eating steak for supper everynight and have all brand new equipment since I guess I'll be out of things to spend money on. And even then, I think I'll go buy food for starving people and dogs.

Every winter, countless birds starve as do things like deer and moose in severe winters. Where I live there are houses where fields of grasses and trees belong, so if I set up a bird seed feeder I am merely replacing the food a bird should be able to get by foraging, if mankind had not removed their natural resource. If you destroy habitat by your actions and then say the animals should fend for themselves you are very hard hearted. (Nicest way I can express it)

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Every winter, countless birds starve as do things like deer and moose in severe winters. Where I live there are houses where fields of grasses and trees belong, so if I set up a bird seed feeder I am merely replacing the food a bird should be able to get by foraging, if mankind had not removed their natural resource. If you destroy habitat by your actions and then say the animals should fend for themselves you are very hard hearted. (Nicest way I can express it)

They need to adapt and overcome, just as they have for thousands of years. Nope not hard hearted, just realistic.

My neighbor used to fee the birds, damn things would **** all over his house and the surrounding houses.