June 27, 2010
Read More
Pileated Woodpecker 001
In March I photographed the male pileated woodpecker as he was busy constructing a nest cavity. I could hardly wait to photograph the babies as they emerged in June, however, those eggs did not hatch. Both pileateds took turns sitting on the eggs until the second week of June and then abandoned the nest. Not all eggs survive.
Pileated Woodpecker 002
I thought I had missed my opportunity but I stumbled onto another nest cavity along the Gooseberry Falls State Park entrance road.
Pileated Woodpecker 003
The babies were several days old and already appeared as though they might fly at any time. Check out the length of this guys tongue. You can see why it is easy for them to get ants out of rotted trees.
Pileated Woodpeckers 004
They held out for three days giving park staff and park visitors the opportunity of a lifetime to see the adults feeding the babies. Pileateds are the largest woodpecker in this area and are so fun to watch. The babies stuck their heads out of the nest constantly calling for food.
Pileated Woodpeckers 005
When they get excited their red notch stands straight up. Both male and female feed the young. They bring food every 15 to 20 minutes. It takes a lot of ant larvae to satisfy their voracious appetites.
Pileated Woodpeckers 006
Here you can see the adult male feeding the young. The male has the red mustache.
Pileated Woodpeckers 007
Here he is regurgitating ant larvae into the mouth of the young female.
Pileated Woodpeckers 008
This is one of my favorite photos of the series. They certainly look like excited teenagers.
Pileated Woodpeckers 09
I wanted to see the babies fly so I checked the tree early in the mornings. Yesterday all three flew. I got to the nest at 6:15 a.m. and one had already flown. One little female and one male were still in the nest. Both mom and dad went from tree to tree calling and encouraging the other two to jump. The parents stop feeding the young to encourage them to leave home but the dad flew in and gave them just a taste to tease them into wanting more. The little female jumped and followed the dad leaving the one male in the nest.
Pileated Woodpeckers 010
The little male was scared. He leaned out of the hole many times attempting to find the courage to take the first leap. Both mom and dad were on a tree in front of the nest calling to him. I got the camera ready and got this picture about 2 seconds before he jumped but not when he jumped. He surprised me. He leaned way back into the nest where I could only see his feet. Suddenly he was out like a rocket. He must have thought if his sisters could do it he could too as long as he didn’t look down. I missed the shot but have a great memory. Now the tree is quiet after many days of constant activity.