Every day, at least twice a day I drive by this large dead oak tree that is along the road that leads into my neighborhood. I have watched it slowly deteriorate over the course of several years. Branches have fallen off in afternoon storms, and a lot of the bark has all fallen off. And along with that deterioration, holes began appearing and over time and have become quite numerous. They are very obviously woodpecker holes, and every time I drive by I look for the culprit but I have never see him/her until last week. Of course, it was on a Friday night after a busy day, and I hadn’t planned to take any pictures. I was tired and just wanted to go home! But there on the tree was a large, male pileated woodpecker, just working away at one of the lowers holes. After looking out for him for over a year, there was no way I was going to just drive by!

So I turned around and got into a position where I had a pretty good view, and got my camera and gear out (this type situation is exactly why I bring my gear everywhere with me). The woodpecker seemed totally oblivious to my presence and went on working for about twenty minutes. I experimented with a couple of lenses and some different camera settings while I shot photos. I was just considering trying to moving to a new location when the bird suddenly decided he was done, and off he went. Needless to say, I was no longer tired. I couldn’t wait to get home and sort through my images and see how they came out! This is one of the reasons I so enjoy doing this.

Most people are probably familiar with pileated woodpeckers since they are the ones that Woody Woodpecker was modeled after. They are the largest (or possibly second largest if any ivory billed woodpeckers still exist) in North America. They have a pretty extensive range that includes all of the eastern United States up into Canada, across central Canada, and down along the west coast of the US. In other words, pretty much anywhere in North America that has suitable habitat. The habitat they prefer is temperate hardwood forests, preferably with mature trees and in larger tracts, but they are also sometimes found in parks (especially large ones), and residential areas.

I was glad to have finally spotted the woodpecker, if for no other reason than to see what kind it was. I had suspected a pileated since the tree holes were large, and somewhat square, but I wasn’t sure. I’m going to continue to watch that tree. I hope to spot my little friend again, or maybe his mate. And of course, there may be other interesting birds or mammals attracted to that tree and it’s load of insects. Especially since the woodpecker has pealed away much of the bark and drilled in towards the tree’s center. Who knows what I may see next?