Community Chat

[golding76]

There is a somewhat large bird in my yard now, and it is pecking at a stump that has been there for decades.

I've seen woodpeckers before in my yard, but this one is VERY large, and its crest is the brightest red.

I'm in Northern Virginia.  Is it what is called a Pileated Woodpecker? 

Its crest is orangish-red and super bright!  Big bird...

[LilacTree]

All I know is "how much wood would a woodpecker peck if a woodpecker could peck wood."

[Sorry, I couldn't resist.]

[Sweet Caroline 1]

Goldie76, I am in Birmingham , AL and saw one of these for the first time this season.  A large woodpecker that sounded like he had a hatchet instead of a beak.  Large, black, with red and white head.  

[Venezia]

It sounds like a pileated woodpecker.  You can google it for a picture.

Think of "Woody, the Woodpecker"!  They make the strangest call, too.  We have dozens of woodpeckers around our home, including pileated.

And, yes, they are LOUD.

[ValuSkr]

Yes, it's probably a Pileated.  Lucky you - it's a rare treat to see one!

[golding76]

Yes, Sweet Charlotte,  I've never seen one this big.  And it is still eating!!!

A male Cardinal sat on a nearby fence, observed and then jumped down within a foot and a half of this big bird.  There seems to be a "Red Male Bird" convention going on.   

For a minute, I was thinking I had a monster or exotic bird out there.  Even a mutant.

[golding76]

Thank you to all who replied.

While I typed my message to Charlotte, there must have been a territorial battle.  No birds now.

I just knew this was a special moment.

[QueenDanceALot]

I've had downy woodpeckers at my feeders for a few years now (no Pilated!) and I enjoy seeing them.

Last year I looked out my window and saw a HUGE bird at my suet feeder and he had a red spot on his head and when I looked him up I saw that he was a red-bellied woodpecker (strange how he's named that when his belly isn't red, but the top of his head!).

Anyway, I almost fell over because he just dwarfed the other birds and the suet feeder!

[blackhole99]

If you live in a log home home like we do, woodpeckers are really bothersome. Thank goodness we never had a big Pilated woodpecker come by, but I can imagine they could do a tremendous amount of damage to a log home.

[golding76]

blackhole99, I think you are so right because I have never seen a woodpecker hammer away as long and as hard as this one did.  This guy was like a jackhammer!  Your home would be sawdust in one section after this bird pecked away at it.

I hope your log home is spared the fate of this tough-guy sort of woodpecker.

By the way, I am intrigued and charmed by the fact that your home is a log cabin.  How cool is that?!