Right before these shots were taken I had given up on even getting a glimpse of the bird. Pileated are loud, big, and can be shy. However, as I walked away he flew through the pines to land in my path.
It became louder and I realized there were two. One was staying hidden while following the other. They breed here so I assume both are young siblings. Above you can see the tip of another beak left side of the tree.
And then a bright red head. Adults can be almost 2 feet (.6 meters) tall, most in the Lowcountry are a little smaller.
Pileated are the largest Woodpecker in North America, unless someone should actually see an Ivory-billed. Once a year a person reports seeing the extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker, with no photos.
As usual both climbed up behind the back side and were never seen again.
Oh yeah, don’t stand under a tree when they start hammering it. Chunks of wood go flying.
Noisy
Great shots! 🙂 I tried in vain to get my lens on one yesterday. But I sure did enjoy listening to him/her in the dead quiet forest. 😉
I have that same problem behind my house. They cooperate more in the swamp 😂. Thanks.
Live these birds — they don’t migrate from Canada but winter over in deep woods. They are quite elusive, but if you don’t see them you always hear them. I had one that stayed in my area for over 10 years.
Year round down here in the south too. And yes, loud to let you know they are around.
Love these birds I meant lol 😂
😂😂, my IPad does that to me almost daily.