Sunday, March 8, 2009

Pileated Woodpecker in my Backyard


Hello,
Ever hear a woodpecker in one of your trees? You know the sound, its a tap tap tap. The bird bores it's beak into the wood to eat bugs under the bark or nesting inside the wood. Well for awhile I have been hearing one in my wooded backyard. One day, while on my porch, the elusive bird flew into a tree directly across from my backyard porch. He began his tap tap tapping on the tree. I ran for the camera and got it's picture!! I was rewarded for my efforts when I realized that the bird in question was actually a very rare pileated woodpecker. The local bird watchers actually report sightings and keep a log of where and when they are sighted. I had my own personal showing. This bird was a whopping 18-20 inches tall. A real beauty. After I got too close it took off never to be seen again, but not before I got him on film.

2 comments:

  1. Auxiliary Girl,
    What a prize photo! This is incredible. I see and take photos of ladder-backed and gila woodpeckers all of the time but your woodpecker is so tall! And you got his beak in mid-air. Gorgeous shot.

    ReplyDelete