Finally, A Pair of Pileated Woodpeckers Graces our Feeder
©Bert Gildart: It’s very rare that we can attract a single Pileated Woodpecker to our feeder much less two, but this morning a pair arrived and then it stuck around for about an hour. Most likely we owe the pair’s presence to the December cold.
Though the pair seldom ever shows up together at our feeder we know the two comprise a couple as we hear them in the summer from branches in the cottonwood that tower above all else in our lawn. What we hear is their “laugh,” which has earned the species the name “jungle bird.” By keying in on their call, we can locate them with binoculars.
A rare opportunity
When you first see a Pileated it makes quite an impression because of its size. As you can see from the top image they appear to stand at near equal heights, or about 21 inches. That makes them North America’s largest woodpecker, an undisputed stature as its closest rival for size was the Ivory-billed woodpecker of the Southeast, but the Ivory-billed is now thought to be extinct.
Our seeds and suet cages attract four other species of woodpeckers and all but one frequent our feeders on a consistent basis. These include the Red-shafted Woodpecker as well as the Hairy and the Downy. We believe the other species that visited our feeder was the Lewis Woodpecker, but its appearance was so brief we were unable to make a positive ID. What’s more the Lewis is rare to this area of Montana.
L to R: Squirrel, Red-shafted Flicker; Hairy and red-shafted flicker — all on feeder.
Our feeders also attract squirrels — and last night, a raccoon, which woke Janie, who verified its presence. That means we’ll have to start taking our feeders in at night. It’s easy as the last time racoons showed up I removed the screws securing it to the wooden platform, meaning that now I simply lift it up and into our kitchen. In the morning I’ll return it to the balcony and hope to make a few more images of our Pileated couple.
It’s not easy getting images of the Pileated pair as they seem to resent one another’s presence, squabbling for proprietary rights. There’s plenty of food, but they use their long beaks to drive one another away, meaning there are times when neither gets to feed. Here, it would be easy to draw some political analogies, but I’ve done that before so will simply provide a link.
Incidentally, you can distinguish the male from the female by the red mustache located at the base of its lower mandible. Females have a black stripe in exactly the same area.
So which is the more attractive of the two? Well, they’re both striking specimens from the huge biological class of aves, but, really now, doesn’t the male have just a slight edge?
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AIRSTREAM TRAVELS LAST YEAR
*More Oregon-Pipe NM Photography
4th ed. Autographed by the Authors
Hiking Shenandoah National Park
Hiking Shenandoah National Park is the 4th edition of a favorite guide book, created by Bert & Janie, a professional husband-wife journalism team. Lots of updates including more waterfall trails, updated descriptions of confusing trail junctions, and new color photographs. New text describes more of the park’s compelling natural history. Often the descriptions are personal as the Gildarts have hiked virtually every single park trail, sometimes repeatedly.
Big Sky Country is beautiful
Montana Icons: 50 Classic Symbols of the Treasure State
Montana Icons is a book for lovers of the western vista. Features photographs of fifty famous landmarks from what many call the “Last Best Place.” The book will make you feel homesick for Montana even if you already live here. Bert Gildart’s varied careers in Montana (Bus driver on an Indian reservation, a teacher, backcountry ranger, as well as a newspaper reporter, and photographer) have given him a special view of Montana, which he shares in this book. Share the view; click here.
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
What makes Glacier, Glacier?
Glacier Icons: 50 Classic Views of the Crown of the Continent
Glacier Icons: What makes Glacier Park so special? In this book you can discover the story behind fifty of this park’s most amazing features. With this entertaining collection of photos, anecdotes and little known facts, Bert Gildart will be your backcountry guide. A former Glacier backcountry ranger turned writer/photographer, his hundreds of stories and images have appeared in literally dozens of periodicals including Time/Life, Smithsonian, and Field & Stream. Take a look at Glacier Icons
$16.95 + Autographed Copy
December 14th, 2013 at 7:39 am
Love your narrative and photos.
At our house, the Anna’s hummingbirds reign. One crashed into a window while being chased away by another. Other than that the mourning doves congregate on the power lines above our cul de sac. There is a well-fed hawk that occasionally perches on a nearby pole.
We thought of you when we heard of the cold front hitting your area. I am in awe of your frigid temperatures as the high’s in San Diego are in the upper 60s.
We are so looking forward to escaping to the desert.