Yesterday was a reasonably warm day in this part of Alberta. As I was looking out the front window, a quick flicker of red across the street caught my attention. There, in the neighbours Mayday tree was a Pileated Woodpecker. It is the largest of the woodpecker family, being the size of a crow. It is also the bird that was the inspiration for Woody Woodpecker.The male has a red stripe under the beak that runs to the throat. The female does not. Apparently they are year round residents nesting in the hollows of rotting trees. They make these hollows themselves with their tough hammering beak.
Usually they like fairly heavy forested areas, so to see one here in Spruce Grove , near the open spaces is not an every day occurrence.
They weigh 10-12 oz. When they fly away , you can hear them call-"kuk-kuk-kuk". Once you hear it you won't forget it.
In all the years I have lived in Alberta this is the first Pileated Woodpecker I have seen. We normally get the Downie Woodpecker, who is nowhere near as large . It also doesn't have as much red on the head.
I certainly hope this is not the last we see of this magnificent bird.
8 comments:
I just saw a woodpecker on our barn siding, too. But he didn't have piles ... err, wasn't pileated, I mean. Just a medium sized guy with a determination to bugger up our siding while looking for good bugs to eat. He was great fun to watch.
hey are neat aren't they/ We have the Downie here quite a bit but it is nowhere near he size of a pileated.
Not sure if they are the pixelated, er, pileated variety, but the most of the wooded areas of Wisconsin have lots of them.
"The male has a red stripe under the beak that runs to the throat." I think I might be related.
From what i read about them, they are becoming more scarce all the time. Strange, but I haven't seen it since this one day
Looks like what I was taught to call a "woodhen" in these parts. Yeah, the size is about right, like a good, FAT crow.
And that call IS hard to mimic! And, LOUD, too! And when these guys go to workin' on a dead limb full of bugs, it sounds like a construction crew!
Brumo, thats it exactly. From what I read, they cab make a hole as big as your thumb in no time at all.
And the call is LOUD
I've never seen one like that, although I've seen ones in the forests here. Your sighting is really thrilling. I hope you see him again.
Bonita: I hope so too. I also hope it doesn't take another 30 or so years.
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