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:

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

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  2. 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

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  3. 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

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  4. 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.

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

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  6. 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.

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  7. 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! :(

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

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  9. 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.

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

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

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

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

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  14. 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

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

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

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  17. 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.

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

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  19. Great photos of the woodpecker.

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

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  21. 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!

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

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

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

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  25. 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. :)

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

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

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

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

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  30. 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

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

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

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

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  34. Oh wow!! What a gorgeous bird!!

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