The Big Pecker

For a awhile there has been a persistent hammering coming from the treeline along Silver Creek.  Mind you there is an abundance of dead and dying ash along the creek banks and in the swampy slough to the west. 

I already had a pretty good idea of who might be the maestro of the anvil chorus emanating from the woods - but I hadn't had an opportunity to confirm the identity.

So the dog and I went to investigate on one of our walks.

Check this out.

A big old ash tree with any number of cavities under construction.   

 
At the base of the tree was a sizable trash midden of wood chips.  

And while I didn't catch it on the job; these holes belong to none other than Wisconsin's largest pecker.  The pileated woodpecker.  

 

Female Pileated - Nestwatch Image

The name derives from the the Latin pileatus - "wearing a cap".

This bird is about the size of a crow and announces its territory by drumming on hollow trees, chimneys and utility poles.

It's favorite food is carpenter ants and it will carve oval holes up to several feet long in tree trunks. It feeds it's young regurgitated insects.  Yum!

 

Anyway, since this on one of our regular routes we'll be monitoring progress to determine if these are nesting cavities or if the birds are simply disassembling the trees for purposes of feeding.  

 

One of the consequences of Emerald Ash Borer is an abundance of dead and dying ash on the landscape.  I have never been witness to so many numbers and varieties of woodpeckers in my life.  Lordy.