Male Pileated:
Posted on 04/04/2023 5:44:31 AM PDT by Red Badger
In Texas, a man claims to see the mysterious black-and-white woodpecker a few times a week on his land near an airport in Longview. A woman in North Carolina says one regularly visits bird feeders at her home. Another insists she encountered it nearly 20 years ago in Florida.
“I KNOW what I saw, and I’m thrilled to have seen him,” she wrote in July to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The federal agency isn’t entirely convinced.
In late 2021, the U.S. government sparked a fierce flap in ornithological circles when it said the ivory-billed woodpecker—a majestic bird with a nearly 3-foot wingspan—was gone for good, after official sightings hadn’t been documented in roughly eight decades.
The declaration has divided both hobbyists and professional birders alike. Ornithologists and researchers cite recent, grainy images of what they say suggests the ivory-billed woodpecker is indeed still alive.
Others are pushing back, saying it is time to move on.
“A suggestive video is not good enough,” says John Dillon, a past president of the Louisiana Ornithological Society and a member of the state’s rare-birds record committee.
Mr. Dillon argues that all the time and money the government is spending on this woodpecker could be put to better use restoring wetlands and protecting wildlife that is irrefutably still alive.
He isn’t trying to ruffle any feathers here, but says, “There’s not a lot of difference between finding the bird or proving that Noah’s ark was real.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has collected more than 200 comments on its proposal to end the woodpecker’s endangered-species status, and along with it, the funding to protect the bird’s habitat and population recovery.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
There was a show,on how their brains are protected from hammering on trees- can’t remeber the specifics now. Big horn sheep,have a special design too to withstand tremendous pressures.
It looks a lot like a Pileated Woodpecker, of which we have many here in the NE
Similar, only the Ivory Billed Woodpecker is larger...................
I have several Pileated Woodpeckers that visit my feeders every day (central Indiana). The most I’ve seen flying around in my backyard at one time is 5 (3 males and 2 females). It’s pretty cool when they have babies to watch them train their youngins where the easy food sources are versus out in nature, which I have plenty of trees for them to go hunting insects in.
My home is set up high and then the woods are all in a ravine that edges a creek. I can sit and look out the windows of my family room and sunroom, and see the midsections to the tops of the trees. I’ve had friends that describe this as a view like a treehouse would have.
We have about six different kinds of woodpeckers here all year long, except the yellow bellied sapsucker doesn’t come to the feeders. He stays out in the woods. Still I occasionally get to see him, usually late Spring through the Fall. I guess he winters somewhere else.
I had to look those up. Pretty bird.
** Their vision is so great that if you move they can see you through the glass and they are gone in an instant. If I stayed frozen I could observe them at a three foot distance for a minute and a half or more.**
They do have excellent vision. If they see me out at the feeders, they hang away until I’ve finished there. Then they approach when I’m gone, but I can still see them from my windows, which are about 20-25 feet away from the house.
Next time, shoot it and see what you got.
Does it have beautiful plumage like the Norwegian Blue?
L
All birds are beautiful..................
Male Pileated:
There’s a small farm that’s on the route to our gun club. At the top of the tallest tree there’s a huge Bald Eagle nest. We spot them every third or fourth time we drive by.
Magnificent creatures.
L
I agree, they are all beautiful. I have learned to be a bird watcher once we moved into this house 10 years ago. Before that I only knew the basics like cardinals, orioles, blue jays, bluebirds, robins, etc. I had no idea about how many different birds are really out there. Learning and have a long way to go. Peterson’s field guide has been very helpful to me.
Peterson’s field guide ............ I have a copy of one from the late 50’s.................
A strong and efficient looking bird.
One meant for the wild.
Yes, they are strong, impressive birds. I always wish I could find where they build their nests. A few years ago, one of the males was pecking out a huge hole in an old sycamore tree here, but they build many prospective homes, and the lady chooses one. They didn’t pick that one I guess, because I had a good angle and would’ve been able to see the babies had they picked that one. I really had my fingers crossed! Would’ve been some great shots.
Mine is from 2008.
We had an adult Bald Eagle fly over and around our property a month or two ago. There’s a sanctuary about 10 miles from here, but I’ve never seen one of the adults over here until that day. It was fun to watch it for the several minutes it was around.
I'm close to a river, lots of eagles. Just yesterday out on the deck one flew over at tree top level, beautiful birds.
The Sibley’s guide is my favorite.
https://www.amazon.com/Sibley-Guide-Birds-2nd/dp/030795790X?ref_=ast_author_dp
...for the one volume version but the newer is two volume, east and west.
I use “iBird Pro” as an app on my iPhone and it is handy and good.
Yes, Pileateds are not particularly rare, and one has to assume that these purported sightings of Ivory-billed are just misidentifications by people who WANT to see the extinct one, or don’t even know the common one exists.
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