A Plenitude of Pileateds

John took a wonderful video of a pair of young pileated woodpeckers right outside Clover cottage today.  These are strikingly lovely birds, and big!!!   I was charmed by the young bird pecking at the swaying grass, while the sibling was hacking out huge bits of tree.

They were tough to photograph, with the morning mist and their inability to hold still and pose.  When they are striking into the tree, they are really just a blur, it happens so fast.

We are enchanted by woodpeckers, and fascinated by how they are able to hammer into wood, tearing out big chunks, and not fall off with a concussion.  In fact, science studies these birds to help produce better helmets for us!   There is an incredible adaptation at work here, not the least of which involves the tale of the Woodpecker's Tongue.
We are hearing them a lot lately -- in flight, they utter a loud "Quick, Quick, Quick!" call that is very distinctive.  Ashok asked me why they are in such a hurry...  The only reply I had was they didn't want to be late getting to the cherry tree, or finding a bug for lunch in the old stump.