Sue spent last weekend here, with her camera never far from her hand. She's the one who scooped the Flying Squirrel photographs. She was amazed by the number and variety of birds we had coming to the feeders. And, on a drive through Dwight, we had to stop twice -- once for the wild turkeys, and again for a pileated woodpecker perched on a telephone pole right at the roadside. These last two models were frustrating, because they left before we could get them 'in the frame'.
So, this morning, on my way to the stables, I had to run back for my camera when the pileated woodpecker landed on a pole right by the barn. He spent quite some time there, preening and fluffing up his feathers, and let me get some great photos.
These are striking birds indeed. The largest of our woodpeckers (think of Woody Woodpecker) and their loud ringing cry of Quick Quick Quick makes them easy to track. Insect eaters, they are sometimes called the Anteaters of the North, and the huge rectangular holes they carve into trees in pursuit of carpenter ants and other boring insects can be so large that the tree breaks in half.
Because of their fondness for nesting in the largest trees left in the forest, lightning become a hazard for the young woodpeckers!
The species was in decline but Acid Rain actually gave them a bit of a boost in these parts. With the decline of the maple forest due to the acidic conditions, there were more dead trees hosting more insects making more food for more woodpeckers. Now the forests are coming back, but the woodpecker population remains strong.
We see these birds often at Bondi -- especially during the autumn when they come to the big wild cherry trees on our property.
These pictures are for you, Sue!!
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