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Mousetoescamper

(4,941 posts)
Sat May 18, 2024, 02:59 PM May 2024

Female pileated woodpecker

Taken yesterday morning at Lancaster County Central Park, Lancaster, PA. This one got neglected while reviewing a few hundred shots yesterday afternoon. She was pretty far away, but it's not a bad exposure. One of my favorite birds.



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Female pileated woodpecker (Original Post) Mousetoescamper May 2024 OP
I love hearing them ! FirstLight May 2024 #1
And the cackle. SarahD May 2024 #2
Those live in my neighborhood. SamKnause May 2024 #3
This is a beautiful bird in a photo that more than does her justice, my dear Mousetoescamper . . . CaliforniaPeggy May 2024 #4
Thanks, Peggy! Mousetoescamper May 2024 #7
What a great shot! Diamond_Dog May 2024 #5
Thanks! Mousetoescamper May 2024 #9
There was another woodpecker that looked similar but was supposed to be extinct captain queeg May 2024 #6
The ivory-billed woodpecker was thought to be extinct Mousetoescamper May 2024 #10
ha. thats purrrfect. ka dak ak. AllaN01Bear May 2024 #8
Great shot! Grumpy Old Guy May 2024 #11
Thanks! Mousetoescamper May 2024 #12
Redheads always have something special about them. calimary May 2024 #13
Naturally hot stuff: fire, passion, danger, vitality. Mousetoescamper May 2024 #14
Love those birds! Nice catch! HAB911 May 2024 #15
Thanks! Mousetoescamper May 2024 #16
I was wondering how to tell that this is a female, so i googled. ShazzieB May 2024 #17
Thanks! Mousetoescamper May 2024 #18

FirstLight

(13,876 posts)
1. I love hearing them !
Sat May 18, 2024, 03:04 PM
May 2024

We mostly have the Downy kind, a few others I can't remember...but the drumming on the trees is so distinct

SamKnause

(13,759 posts)
3. Those live in my neighborhood.
Sat May 18, 2024, 03:27 PM
May 2024

I heard one this morning pecking an electric pole for a floodlight in my yard.

I looked out and sure enough there it was.

They are destructive and they are fast about it.

Between them and the carpenter bees wood gets a drilling around here.

CaliforniaPeggy

(151,805 posts)
4. This is a beautiful bird in a photo that more than does her justice, my dear Mousetoescamper . . .
Sat May 18, 2024, 03:48 PM
May 2024

She is perfectly caught; even the tree she's pecking is in focus, while nothing else is. It's perfect!

Diamond_Dog

(34,414 posts)
5. What a great shot!
Sat May 18, 2024, 03:55 PM
May 2024

These bids are notoriously shy so you must have been in the right place at the right time! I’ve only been lucky enough to see one in my backyard once.

I alway thought that this is the bird Woody Woodpecker was based on.

Mousetoescamper

(4,941 posts)
9. Thanks!
Sat May 18, 2024, 04:22 PM
May 2024

I usually hear them before seeing them.

Cartoonist Walter Lantz said the character was inspired by an acorn woodpecker.

captain queeg

(11,780 posts)
6. There was another woodpecker that looked similar but was supposed to be extinct
Sat May 18, 2024, 04:00 PM
May 2024

Sometimes someone would report seeing one but it would end up being a pileated woodpecker. Don’t remember the name now. Maybe an ivory billed woodpecker?

Mousetoescamper

(4,941 posts)
10. The ivory-billed woodpecker was thought to be extinct
Sat May 18, 2024, 04:34 PM
May 2024

but was seen again in Arkansas in 2004 and hasn't been seen feather nor tail of since. I had to look it up but well remember the controversy.

ShazzieB

(18,444 posts)
17. I was wondering how to tell that this is a female, so i googled.
Sat May 18, 2024, 06:46 PM
May 2024

And I found out the following, which I am sharing in case anyone else was wondering:

Both have red crowns, but on males the red color extends all the way down to their long bills. On females, the red coloration stops on the top of the head, and the forecrown is instead black or gray in color, according to Cornell Lab. (Source: https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/what-difference-male-vs-female-pileated-woodpecker/)


This is a lovely shot of this lovely little lady!
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