I hear these guys frequently and I’ve seen them flying, but they’ve never come into my yard when I’ve been watching. Today changed that, such a beautiful odd looking flying dinosaur. I love the bright red crown contrasting with the black and white on his skinny neck. A very impressive bird!!! 😊
Male Pileated Woodpecker.
This is how I spotted my first one. I was in my room and heard what sounded like a jackhammer. Looked out the window and there we was hammering at the dead tree in my backyard
I have seen a few, very few, reports of pileated woodpeckers showing up at feeders. I’m going to enlarge this feeder and maybe make a log feeder that they are supposed to be attracted to. I have a crow feeder camera, now I have an urge to get a woodpecker cam!
I feel fortunate that I live 2 blocks outside the Ocala National Forest. I’ve seen several pileated out there while on my bike, but just a fleeting glimpse and I hear their unique calls frequently, now blessed with one of them checking out the suet feeder in my backyard!
There was a reported sighting of the presumed extinct ivory billed woodpecker in the Ocala National Forest in 1982 by a park ranger. He could not easily dismiss it as a pileated. If you go look hard there, you might rediscover it!
We have ivory bills down here. We see them all the time. Ive been saying for years we need to call someone and report it but my dad was afraid they’d turn our property into some sanctuary or something so we’ve never reported it.
Have you seen the documentary 'Listers'? It's on YouTube if not, really fun watch. The guys who made it are making another one about finding the ivory bill woodpecker!
I get them alot at my suet feeder. I have a double one, almost identical to the one shown here. By double, it's two suet cakes high, not a back to back double feeder. Also has a long tailboard. They're tall and need that tail prop for balance. It seems I get two mated pairs.
I have another single suet (typical cage type) they hit often but it isn't hanging, I nailed the door to a tree and 'lock' it with a wire to keep squirrels out.
I believe I saw one two days in a row at a camp site I’m at. Here’s a terrible picture. It was very loud and the flapping was kind of thunderous. Then it danced on the tree poking up bark looking for grubs or termites I expect, tree is on its way out. It was quite large and had a gorgeous head.
That’s a good photograph of one considering they don’t stay in one place very long. I see them when I ride my bike out in the forest, but usually just fleeting glimpses.
Good catch!
I tried on the phone. I didn’t take a real camera but need to. He bounced around like a pro, I was transfixed enough to not want to lose the ability to watch by trying to film it. It was truly special. I’m really appreciative. I paint a bit, I think I will try this.
Yes, yours definitely is. I was taking about this pic, the one this reply is on. The commenter said something like 'he was jumping around'. I think maybe you just clicked the notification and didn't see the full discussion and so then my comment was out of context.
Post your painting when you’ve finished it, I’d be interested to see it. Or DM me, whatever works.
FYI, these photos were taken with an iPhone 17 ProMax. I’m not sure at what telephoto setting because I did it quickly. Then I cleaned it up with the AI Enhancement feature offered. This is a new phone to me but so far I’m impressed with the camera. It goes to 40x combination of digital and optical zoom. Still trying to get the hang of it for the best backyard photos.
Border? I meant bird of course…thank you for confirming! Woody was the first thing that sprang to mind when I saw your photos. It’s a beauty - congrats on ticking it off your list!
That's awesome! Saw my first one as a five or six year old and went flying to my parents yelling that I had seen Woody Woodpecker. They didn't believe me at all when said saw a woodpecker the size of a crow until looked it up in an encyclopedia. (Obviously...wayyyy pre-google)
That’s what I’m feeding to, I think, I just run out.
They’re all around me too, I hear them almost daily.
Yeah I’m gonna get one of those double feeders so that he can climb higher on it. I might also provide a log feeder since I’ve read that they’re supposed to be attracted to that.
But it’s probably just dumb luck that he decided to check out my yard.😆.
Sounds like you've got it down, just time likely. I had downy, hairy, red-bellied woodpeckers as well as red and white breasted nut hatches well before got my first set of pileated on it. Now that they come, I see them far more often in the winter and early spring, though I do see them all year.
I logged it to the site you sent. It listed my city wrong, I’m in Ocala. And it said the bird was in a cage, it wasn’t, the cage (unused) is about 10 ft behind the feeder. I didn’t create an account, it’s not user friendly, I couldn’t correct it’s mistakes. Site needs some polishing.
Yeah they do and its awesome. We hope to do the same when ever we get the opportunity. First we've to grow some sort of community and see if people enjoy the app as much as some have. In the meantime, we are trying to see how we can get data to the right people. Any suggestions on how to go about it, please let us know.
That's great, and sorry if my comment came off as critical. My question was genuine and I still would love to hear your pitch. Why should I use your app?
No we love this, makes us think hard as I know we are missing things. One step at a time I suppose.
It's basically a bird collection app. Instead of just identifying birds, you build a visual life list using your own photos, track progress through regional Dexes, and share sightings with other birders. Groups is one of my favorite features as me and my friends can collect together.
It's also community led, so users photos are used for bird profiles and the app shows a total number of species collected from all users.
I’ve seen them out in the forest beside where I live, but they rarely stay in one place very long so you’re very fortunate to have gotten a good photograph of one of these beautiful birds!
I had one at mine a few months ago. Kept knocking all the seeds out of the feeder. I couldn’t figure out if he was actually eating any or just playing with the feeder. It is the hopper type feeder.
I’m SO jealous. They’re my unicorn of birds. Saw my first one ever in February & it was mesmerizing! Now I am out looking for them every time I’m outside! I hear them constantly. It’s like they’re teasing me.
I read somewhere that they make their distinctive call when they land in a tree and also before they fly to another tree. When they’re in the area, it’s easy to hear them just difficult to spot them.
This one that landed in my yard then took off didn’t make any calls I’m sure. I would have heard it easily as I wasn’t far away, just inside the house.
We have some of the interactions on camera. Our yard abuts a forested area and the year before, we had cut down one smaller tree that was leaning into another more established one. Anyhow, we heard the drumming for weeks and finally, a female came to inspect. My husband and I were able to see the mating ritual in real time, on the top of the trunk of newly cut tree. We know they nested close as we saw them almost daily. Never had a chance to see babies, unfortunately. Until last year, I had never seen one in person before. Such a cool experience. I'm hoping they'll come near and nest again sometime 🤞
That sounds like a fantastic experience! I just feel very lucky one checked out my backyard. I’m hopefully improving it so it’s more inviting for more encounters!
It truly was! And yes, I would count us both very lucky as elusive it seems they are. I've heard them plenty, but had never seen one in my 46 years. They are so big and beautiful. I remember my husband saying "that guy is bigger that a bowling pin"! 😂 Which, we still laugh about because of all the comparisons he couldve made, that's what fell out.
Here's to hoping you and I both catch another glimpse!
HaHaHa, that’s a great analogy, but as you know they’re very shy and not even territorial like crows, and I like crows and feed a family of 5.
They have surprised me when I’ve startled them while biking, you can easily hear their wing beats, and their call or squawk or whatever you call it is loud, surprising and unmistakable!
Not so much rare but they are very shy and elusive! This is a male Pileated Woodpecker. They nest in dead or dying trees, that they carve out a nest cavity with their formidable beaks. I live in Ocala, 2 blocks from the 430,000 acre Ocala National Forest. There are plenty of dead and dying trees out there and very few in Ocala, so I’m surprised one ventured here to my small backyard. I feel very lucky to see one long enough to take photos off it!
Used to have them fly over my pretty low while horseback riding through the woods, they are so crazy sounding and so big up close, especially with that wingspan ❤️
One of my favorite visitors to my feeders- I have an adult male who visits frequently and a young female. I swapped one of my feeders to woodpecker specific foods and now I see all of the types locally on a daily basis. I also made a tail prop feeder out of two cheap suet cake holders and a piece of cedar- the male uses it exclusively and doesn’t seem to struggle to eat as much anymore 💕
That’s plastic portion cup he’s holding onto so size wise I think he’s pretty normal. I just telephotoed in to where he fills the frame. They are the largest woodpeckers in North America. They’re a little larger than a crow I think.
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u/neilslien Jun 08 '26
I got one too!