By Sally Siko
I was out on the porch enjoying a cup of coffee this past weekend when this handsome Pileated Woodpecker flew in and landed nearby.
It was so neat to get a good close up look at this impressive bird!
These large woodpeckers are markedly elusive birds to see in the field and IMO, are notoriously hard to photograph.
Despite their size, my best views of these handsome birds are usually obscured by thick brush and tangled briar.
Thank goodness this was not the case today!
Measuring up to 19 inches in length, Pileateds are the largest species of Woodpecker living in North America. These large birds are found all across the eastern United States, western California and in the Pacific Northwest. Their hefty size and loud calls make them a pretty easy bird to ID in the field, even when other species are in the area.
Their diet consists of insects including larvae, beetles, Caterpillar‘s, termites and spiders. That being said, their favorite food is ants and it’s not unusual to see one sitting on an anthill at the base of a tree eagerly gobbling up the six legged delicacies.
As demonstrated here though, Pileated’s are more often seen high up in the trees circling the trunks and limbs in search of a meal.
Using their long bill, Pileated’s will poke and prod under the bark to snap up a tasty insect snack.
Pileated Woodpeckers are a year round resident of North Carolina. As with most of our other Woodpecker species found in the Tarheel state, their best spotted in swampy areas with stands of large dead trees but can also be found in dry, mixed deciduous forests as well.
Aren’t they beautiful?
Photos by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my beloved full frame 50MP beast, the mighty @canonusa #5Ds