This is the best photograph of a Pileated Woodpecket I have ever seen. I see them often but have had no luck getting a shot anywhere close to yours. You win.
I'm 71..in grade school every day for years the name my bullies called me... Woody woodpecker. Know why. I have auburn hair. I don't call it red. Crayons are red. A stop sign is red. Not my hair. That's how stupid bullies are.
Artists are often not birders and so it's very common for them to mix and match characteristics of different species. Woody is very confusing because his appearance and call don't match.
I get them all the time (like, every day) on the suet on my deck. In the spring, I get two or three at a time when momma brings her baby to feed suet to. The young have orange crests that darken into red as they mature. I love watching them.
Four cakes of suet every three days. Though they are helped by the Flickers, the Hairy and the Downy Woodpeckers, plus any Juncos, Sparrows, Towhees, Nuthatches, Chickadees, etc. who happen along. The Nuthatches are the bravest of the lot.
I may have seen one of these TODAY! It was either a Pileated, a Red-Headed or an Ivory Billed Woodpecker but I only caught a quick glimpse of him. I saw the red head and thought it was a Cardinal but he took off and I saw black, white and the red head!
It was huge.
But, there is some debate as to whether the Ivory Billed is really extinct and I live in the region where there have been possible sightings.
Pileated Woodpeckers are huge. You will never see an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. They are extinct. The believers can't even provide one identifiable photo. And they are not able to explain how the bird has gone 80 years without being found and photographed in the United States.
I feed #crows. I've been trying to develop a relationship with them. a
About a year ago I had a pair of these guys stop by! I got really excited bc I thought they were ivory billed pileated woodpeckers but they were just regular! Still a lucky visit i think! #WoodpeckerWednesday
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The first one we blame her. The other 2 were on us for forgetting to pull them in in the evening.
It was a very expensive lesson! 😂
The first time I seen them
Picture from phone so not high quality
https://www.npr.org/2009/03/10/101665227/woody-the-acorn-not-pileated-woodpecker
And Acorns are some of the best woodpeckers!
But, there is some debate as to whether the Ivory Billed is really extinct and I live in the region where there have been possible sightings.
About a year ago I had a pair of these guys stop by! I got really excited bc I thought they were ivory billed pileated woodpeckers but they were just regular! Still a lucky visit i think! #WoodpeckerWednesday
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