Pileated Woodpecker

The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. That is unless you believe that the ivory billed woodpecker, which has not had a verified sighting in about 40 years, is not extinct. they are found in wooded areas of the eastern half of the United States, the Pacific Northwest and the boreal forests of Canada. They prefer an old growth forest habitat with a good number of larger trees. They are non-migratory and stay on their breeding territory all year long. They are very defensive of their territory and will often drum, pound their beaks loudly on a hollow tree, to warn other birds to stay out. They also have a loud call, that sounds like laughing or cackling, that can also be a warning to invaders. During the winter they are a little more forgiving and will let other pileated into the territory to feed.  

Pileated woodpecker primarily eat ants and wood boring insect larva. They do this by excavating large holes into trees and then using their long tongue to slurp up their prey. Pileated excavations are easily identified because they are typically larger than other woodpeckers and often somewhat rectangular. Frequently song birds and smaller woodpeckers will feed inside pileated excavations. They will also eat fruit, berries and nuts. They will sometimes forage on the ground through dead leaves or on fallen trees, where there are a lot of insects. If you are lucky they may even come to a suet feeder, especially during a rough winter. 

Pileated begin nesting in April. The male will make a nesting cavity, usually in a dead tree, in hopes of attracting a female. It can take weeks for him to excavate the cavity. The hole to the cavity is an oblong shape and the inside is unlined except for leftover wood chips. Pileated typically have one brood per year which consists of a clutch of 3-5 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs which take between two to three weeks to hatch. Both parents care for the young which are born helpless and without feathers. After they raise the young the pileated woodpeckers abandon the nest. They will not use the same nest again in the future. These abandon cavities provide nesting habitat for many other types of birds including wood ducks and owls. Pileated will also sometimes nest in man made nesting boxes.

Pileated Woodpecker

The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker species in North America. That is if the ivory-billed woodpecker is extinct. This crow sized woodpecker bores rectangular holes into trees and other wood in search of ants and other insects. The holes that they create are so large that they often attract other woodpeckers and birds that feed of insect or use the space as a nesting cavity. They are found through out the eastern half of the United States, southern Canada, and the west coast of the United States. They are not migratory so they stay on their breeding territory all year long.

Pileated Woodpecker

The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. At average over 16 inches long and a 29 inch wingspan they are slightly smaller then an American crow. Pileated woodpeckers can be found through out Canada, and the eastern and northern United States. The pileated is an omnivore. It primarily eats ants, termites and insect larva that it finds by boring into wood. The wholes that they excavate are usually rectangular in shape and are often very deep. Pileated will also eat fruit and nuts.   

Pileated Woodpecker

The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker that we have here in Minnesota, they are just slightly smaller then a crow. They are so large that the holes that they excavate in trees in search of ants often attract other birds. These holes are usually rectangular in shape.
Pileated woodpeckers stay on territory all year long. Both male and female will defend the territory, although they are more tolerant during the winter. They nest in a cavity that they excavate typically in a large dead tree. The nest is not lined but usually contains wood chips left over from the excavation process.

Pileated Woodpecker

The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker found in most of North America, with a wingspan of around 25 to 30 inches long. These birds are found mostly in the eastern United States, southern Canada and the Pacific Northwest.
Like many other types of woodpeckers pileated woodpeckers are not really migrant. They stay in their nesting territory, and defend it, year round. They can survive in the colder climate because their food source are insects that are found with in trees. They use their powerful beaks to bore large, often rectangular, holes deep into trees to find their prey. They are so large and strong that they will sometimes break small trees. They nest in the cavity of large trees where they will lay a clutch of 1 to 6 eggs. I photographed this pileated last August at Hok-Si-La.

Sharp-shinned adventures at the Minnesota Valley NWR

Last Thursday we actually had some clear weather so I headed over to the Minnesota Valley NWR Visitors Center to check out the feeders. When I arrived I noticed right away that everything was quiet at the feeders. I knew that the Sharp-shinned hawk, that I have seen on numerous visits must be around. A quick scan of the trees reveled the small but deadly predator.
The sharp-shinned hawk is an accipiter. The accipiter family includes sparrowhawks, which we do not usually see in North America, goshawks, and a few other hawks including the sharp-shinned and coopers hawks. Accipiters have broad, short wings and a long tail which helps them maneuver when they fly. Accipiters also have relatively long legs which come in handy to hunt and capture passerines.
After a while the sharpie flew off and the birds began to return to the feeder.

Northern cardinals

White-breasted nuthatch

Red-bellied woodpecker

Downy woodpecker

Even a pileated woodpecker. I think that pileated woodpeckers are pretty cool but when talking to other birders I am never sure which way to pronounce it. Some people pronounce it pill-ee-ay-tid and other people pronounce it Pie-lay-tid. Usually now I call it both, because some birders are crazy and can get hostile if you do not pronounce it the way that they do.

Then suddenly all of the birds at the feeder scattered except one lone downy that was stuck frozen at the feeders.I knew that the sharpie was back before I ever saw it.Fortunately he perched in a pretty good spot for me to get some pics before he spotted the left over downy.And the chase was on. Fortunately for the downy he was able to out maneuver the sharpie and escape, this time.

A stop over at Hok-Si-La on my way home from viewing tundra swans

On my way home from viewing tundra swans near Brownsville, MN I stopped at Hok-Si-La park in Lake City, MN. Hok-Si-La is a great place to go birding in late fall and early winter, especially before Lake Pepin freezes up. On this visit I saw many of the normal birds that we see during the winter in southern Minnesota. I saw white-breasted nuthatch, chickadees and dark-eyed juncos.With a lot of dead wood left to naturally decay in the park you can always find a few woodpeckers hanging around also. I saw downy and hairy woodpeckers and their was also a pileated woodpecker that has been hanging around so far this season.Unfortunately this was the closest shot that I could get of the pileated. He was very skittish and each time that I would get in range to take a shot he would take off to a new tree. Its a good thing that it is not usually necessary to see a pileated to know where he may have flown. With their distinctive call and the thunderous pounding that they give the trees all that you have to do is look with your ears. I also found a red-bellied woodpecker and he was a lot more cooperative.
While I was busy shooting juncos he flew into a bush close by and began to feast on berries. After a few berries, and some acrobatic moves, he finished desert and headed back to the large deciduous trees prolly in search of more protein.
The big draw of Hok-Si-La, at this time of year, are the eagles. Right after I parked and headed down my first trail I spotted an eagle perched on a branch overhanging the lake. Since eagles in the wild can spend around 80% of their time perched on a branch surveying all of the life below them I decided not to hang around. I figured that I would go check out the nest that I found a few weeks earlier. When I arrived at a location that I could see the nest it did not appear as though anyone was home. But as I followed the path around an eagle popped his head up out of the nest.A few minutes later, to my surprise, a second eagle took off out of the nest. It goes to show you just how big that the nests are. Two eagles can sit low enough in the nest that neither can be seen from the ground. At the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, MN they have a picture of a bear hibernating in an eagles nest on the upper peninsula of Michigan. I stayed with the nest and took a few more pictures of the bird that remained including this one showing the nictitating membrane.The nictitating membrane is like a partially transparent second eye lid. It is common on birds as well as sharks, some reptiles and even a few mammal species. The purpose of the nictitating membrane is to protect the eye and keep it moist while at the same time allowing the bird to continue to be able to see. Eagles are very dependent on thier sight.

It was getting late and I was having some issues with my breaks, they told me at the dealership that they would need to be replaced soon, so I headed off home a bit early. On the way back I stopped at the rest stop at the north end of Lake City to use the facilities. This rest stop is one of the nicest rest stops that you can find any where in the US. It has modern facilities, it's always clean and well kept and it has a killer view of Lake Pepin. If you are lucky you can also find eagles perched in, or flying around, the large trees that line the shore. This immature was one of a group of six that was visiting the rest stop at the same time as I was. Where else can you find a rest stop with eagle facilities?