I was a little surprised and quite happy this past weekend to spot a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) poking about on the ground at Occoquan Regional Park. Most of the time I have to settle for high-angle shots when I am lucky enough to spot one of these giant woodpeckers. I have been told that these woodpeckers regularly probe fallen trees, but this was a first for me.
After I inadvertently spooked the woodpecker, it flew to a nearby tree. The light was coming from the side and the front when I took the second shot and it made the woodpecker red crest look like it was on fire. Somehow it seemed appropriate, given that most redheads I have known have tended to be quite fiery.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
What a beauty!
Nice shot.
WOW!
WOW what great pictures!
When I first moved to this house with the forest in the backyard, I was sitting at the kitchen desk just a few steps away from the back deck, when I heard a very loud and clear knock on the sliding glass door to the deck. I was spooked! I turned around hesitantly to see who might be there, and a pileated woodpecker was sitting on the door handle looking in the room at me! I had never seen one before. We were both completely surprised. That may be the closest I’ll ever be to one of those big birds.
That is definitely a cool encounter. I don’t see Pileated Woodpeckers that often, but when I hear what sounds like a jackhammer at work, I can tell that one of them is around.
Nice to see this guy accommodate you, Mike
Wow, that’s an amazing backlit shot, Mike. I’ve never seen PWs on the ground either. The most unusual I’ve seen was one eating winterberries.
When they start pecking it is amazing what they can do.
…and how much noise they can make. Sometimes the pecking sounds like a jackhammer.