ONE LAST WOODPECKER POSTING

In the spirit of full disclosure: this is more of a postscript to the previous series than a serious blog of its own.

I have had one other woodpecker visit this property, but the chances of ever getting its picture are about the same as my taking a stroll on the moon and finding that golf ball one of the astronauts slugged into oblivion.

Only three times in over twenty years, and not at all in the last decade, has a pileated woodpecker passed through this neighborhood and qualified to be on my personal home bird list. The rule is the bird has to land on our property long enough to be accurately identified/verified; if I can validate the sighting in at least two ways (books, online pictures, or by a photograph which is confirmed by another birder) I will add it to my yard list. Currently I have over sixty birds on this list. Note: I also keep a sub-list of birds which have flown over some portion of this acre and a quarter without stopping for a chat, but which I believe to be accurately identified.

The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is huge and very dramatic. An adult is as much as 18" to 20" tall, it is a very "angular" looking bird, very shy if you are stalking it, and it has awesome coloration. It is a gorgeous bird, even if it looks rather geekish, and however awkward it might seem at first glance, it is a magnificent flyer, being both precise and powerful.

Because I don't have a home based photograph and can't find my "in the woods" picture (in which the bird is too distant to really be well seen), I am going to refer you to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology - a great site devoted to the study of birds - to the page which illustrates and describes this giant woodpecker.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Pileated_Woodpecker_dtl.html

If you ever spot "The Pileated" in the wild, you will probably be well away from towns and farms and near some deep woods. Even if you don't remember its name, you will have no doubt as to what species you are seeing since no one will ever confuse this woodpecker with any other woodpecker, or for that matter with any other bird extant or extinct.

Do me a favor. If you do see one of these beauties someday, watch it closely, observe every detail of its appearance and behavior, note the location and the time of day and call me. I'd love to hear all about it, and I might have a try at visiting it myself.