It’s not often I’m able to see a Pileated woodpecker close up.
They’re usually flying away from me, as I view white patches on their underwings and typical woodpecker undulating flight.
Or I hear their loud drilling in the tree tops as I peer through shadowed leaves for a glimpse of the almost crow-sized black red-crested bird with white stripes on its head.
This weekend I happened to be in the right place at the right time.
I found a Pileated woodpecker drilling at the base of a large decidious tree no more than 30 feet away from me.
At first, I only heard the drilling.
It wasn’t loud, and had me looking up to the tree canopy.
And that’s when my eye caught movement near the ground, where I saw the large woodpecker slowly make its way up and around the three-foot in diameter tree trunk.
What a stunning bird to see!
I believe this may be a female Pileated woodpecker, since it doesn’t have a red cheek stripe.
For many people, Pileated woodpeckers will remind them of the Woody the Woodpecker cartoon character, with a similar appearance and a laugh that mimics the call of the Pileated.
I saw my first Pileated woodpecker years ago and was amazed at how big it was.
Found year-round in North America, the map range for the Pileated woodpecker doesn’t include southeastern Michigan.
But that’s the only location I’ve ever found it in the past eight years of birding.
