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.

 

Nice Catch on the Trail Camera

Meet Toxostoma rufum - the Brown Thrasher.  

click on image for a closer look

At first blush I thought this might be a Northern Flicker but the field marks weren't correct.   For this bird the long brown tail is a give-away.  And they are quite common in our woods.

Our DNR trail camera snapped this photo recently.  It is a pleasing and rare action photo.

From above this is a rust-colored bird and from below will be observed a spotted-speckled-streaked breast and a long brown tail.  Most often you'll hear this bird before you see it - as it is renowned for its song repertoire.  Of all the songbirds in north America this one has a book that includes more than 1100 tunes.

They are a delight to listen-to in the early spring mating ritual and much to our chagrin they like scratching in the shredded mulch of Jill's flower beds.

In the trail camera world this is what is known as a money shot.

Porch Setting

Following our daily walk the girls got their daily bath and underbody flush.  

And the sun came out!


Porch setting and bird watching with the Dowager Retriever.

Spotted were:  goldfinch, chickadee, robin, redwing black bird, brown creeper, hairy, downy and red bellied woodpecker.

The Big Pecker

For a couple of weeks there has been a persistent hammering coming from the woodlot to the east.

I'm not kidding.

This hammering goes on for hours on end.  All day long.  For days on end.

Actually this is the beginning of the eleventh year since we’ve actually taken notice of this noisy neighbor.

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 yesterday morning while the girls and I were out for a walk I thought it might be a good idea to see if we could determine the source of all of the racket.

Check this out.

A big old mostly-dead maple - almost completely hollowed-out.

At the base of the tree was a sizable trash heap of wood chips

And while I didn't catch him on the job - this is the bird that is responsible.

photo - Ohio DNR

A pileated woodpecker - Wisconsin's largest woodpecker.

The name derives from 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.

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

Yum!