Another visit with the pileated woodpecker

Our visits with the pileated woodpecker April 21 and May 12 and were amazing, and we didn't expect an encore.

But we were at our breakfast room table just after 2pm, having discussed my sightings of the pileated today. Brenda looked out the window and asked "What is that?", and to my amazement, one of the pileateds was sitting on the fence just about 40 feet from our house!

It sat on the fence long enough for me to scramble for the camera and get off a couple of shots. Then it flew to the back of the yard and latched itself to a small oak tree.

Having focused on the woodpecker as he hung on the tree, I was able to get this fortunate shot as she flew from the tree. At least I think this is the female. The previous viewing was of a larger bird which I take to be the male.

The above view and the views above it of the adult pileated were taken just after 2 pm, and then about 4pm I caught sight of this juvenile at right, high in the big poplar tree in our back yard.

This view of the adult pileated in the same tree just minutes later started suggesting to me that the actual nest was in this big poplar.

As I was watching this juvenile pileated make his way up this dead snag on the poplar tree, I suddenly saw another fuzzy red head pop up behind him! So there were two juvenile pileated woodpeckers!

I had seen one of the juveniles around the flat-topped joint in the tree where the adult above is hanging, so this reinforced the idea that this was the location of the original nest. What a privilege, to have a pileated woodpecker nesting in your back yard!

The young pileated woodpecker hangs around on this dead limb and exercises his wings.

Continuation of the young pileated woodpecker's calisthenics and wing stretching practice.