Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Wild Bird Wednesday: Pileated Woodpecker

Imagine my surprise this past Sunday morning when I saw a Pileated Woodpecker in the oak tree outside my window. I hurried to grab my camera and hoped that I'd get at least one decent shot through the double-paned window. I had the pleasure of photographing one of these last April  (see here) but hadn't seen or heard any for months. Well, imagine my continued surprise when I took my eyes away from my camera and looked out at the tree to figure out where best to focus when something moved on a limb closer to me. Only then did I realize there were two woodpeckers having lunch in my tree.
The female in the two right photos was the one I saw first. I only got a couple of shots of the male before he flew off. He was closer to my window and I think my movements scared him away. It was certainly a happy morning for me.
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday.


36 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

yay! great shots! i will occasionally hear a pair here, but usually far off across the field or woods. :)

Betsy Banks Adams said...

We have them around here --and I love to hear them HOLLER... They can really make some noise!!!! Guess they want everyone to know that they are BOSS of the WORLD... ha

Great photos.
Hugs,
Betsy

Debbie said...

I have one kind and it's black and white with a red head. I hope we have these in NC! I'll be on the lookout. One of them is HUGE and I keep trying to get a shot.

Yours are beautiful!! xoxoxox

Phil Slade said...

I'm so jealous Carletta. After two visits to Ontario I never saw a Pileated. I would love to see two together, never mind in my own garden. Nice pictures too, you got the glint in the bird's eye.

i stora drag said...

Very nice photos! Understand you were happy finding this two in your oak tree! I've never seen any of those!
Greetings Pia

Nette Cecilia said...

Great shoots ,Nette

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

You were lucky to get these great pictures! I've only seen those once when I was at a friends house. I didn't even know what they were until I looked in a bird book. I wasn't able to get a photo.

JunieRose2005 said...

I have only seen them here a few times, but did get some good pictures on a couple occasions! Haven't seen any recently, though! :(

Kerri Farley said...

How Exciting! I would love to have one in my yard!!

Hootin Anni said...

Wow....that is just too darned awesome. Two ...at once. Super.

grab my 'window'...I'm hoping you mean grab my camera.

Needless to say, I would so love to have these in our neighborhood. But, I've yet to see one...color me GREEN with envy here.

DeniseinVA said...

The last time I saw one of these was years ago, on a walk across the Manassas Battlefields. Great shots Carletta.

kayerj said...

That's a great shot. We don't have woodpeckers here but I saw the flicker today

eileeninmd said...

Cool shots of the Pileated woodie, Carletta! It is one of my favorites out of the woodpeckers. Have a wonderful evening!

Carletta said...

Anni~
Yes, it was grab my camera. I guess I didn't proofread this first. :)
I've corrected it. Thanks.

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Wonderful photos of these amazing birds! What a treat to see them together! We have them here, too, and it is always a lovely surprise to see them, but I have never been able to get such good photos. xx

Larry said...

Beautiful Pileated Woodpeckers Carletta! I wish I had them in my yard!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

don't you ever wonder how they don't get a headache? but such great creatures. so fun to watch. (:

Red said...

You got some great shots. Pileateds are like what you say. You don't see them for a while you don't have to get excited about taking their photos . they don't spook very easily.

George said...

These are great pictures of the pileated woodpeckers. It's been several weeks since we've seen our pileated woodpeckers.

mick said...

Great photos of the woodpecker.

Vores have said...

Great pictures showing the woodpecker - our woodpecker sees "little" different.
Thanks for the comment on my blog.
Wish you a good day :)
Hanne Bente

Amanda said...

Loving all this woodpecker action for WBW! Just started bird blog and it's a real eye-opener seeing what everyone around the world has in their backyards!

diane b said...

Great captures. I would be excited too. They look like they are wearing red crash helmets.

Anonymous said...

Great shots, Carletta! Pileated woodpeckers are not only beautiful they are fascinating birds to watch.

Neal said...

Love those shots....I still think you have the birds trained to pose for you. :)

Jori said...

Oh my goodness! We just had one of those on our fence. I was wondering what it was! Thank you for identifying it for us. :)

Wally Jones said...

Very nice images of one of our favorites! How polite for them to wait until you grabbed the camera!

Carletta said...

Paxie,
I honestly was just by your blog the other day. You haven't posted in ages. :)
Hope you're doing well!
Carletta

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Very nice image shares, and this reminds me...hmm wonder what has become of our frequest Pileateds...hmm

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

A pair of them! Wow, that would certainly make my day. Great pictures.

Stewart M said...

These are such splendid birds! I was lucky enough to see some on past trips to the USA - but that was a few years ago!

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW - Stewart M - Australia

Pat said...

Great shot! I would have been excited to see this bird in my yard, too!

Rose said...

And it was a lucky morning for you! I see one of these in the neighborhood here occasionally.

A Colorful World said...

Great shots! Such a fortunate view!!!

A Creative Grace said...

What amazing shots you captured there, of a beautiful bird :) I always feel honoured to witness our impressive woodpeckers here, such beauty :)

Liz said...

Oh wow!! What a gorgeous bird!!