Visitor

truck driver · Mar 13, 2023

One of my many visitors to my bird feeders on my back deck.
I get a variety of woodpeckers, Downey, Red Belly, Hair's, Flickers and for the first time today I saw this guy on the suit feeder, an A piliated woodpecker. They usually don't come this close to the house and this one was with in 15' of the deck door with my wife and I eating lunch and in plain view.

jimbires · Mar 14, 2023

we get woodpeckers on our feeder too . now that you mention it , I don't think the piliated woodpeckers come to the feeder . I'll have to pay attention .

JD338 · Mar 14, 2023

Very cool Roger. We have Piliated woodpeckers here. They can chisel a hole pretty quick.
I've never seen one on a feeder.

JD338

FOTIS · Mar 14, 2023

Cool picture Roger

Yoteklr · Mar 14, 2023

I had one start " demo" on a tree 5 yards behind my climbing stand last year.

I nearly jumped out of my tree!!

DrMike · Mar 14, 2023

Yup, they and the flickers can definitely get your attention when they start their exploratory work.

Guy Miner · Mar 14, 2023

DrMike said:
Yup, they and the flickers can definitely get your attention when they start their exploratory work.

Had a flicker that absolutely loved drumming on the metal flashing of my neighbor's chimney. That could wake a fellow up real quick.

Guy

truck driver · Mar 14, 2023

This is my first Piliated to come to the feeders and to top it off it's a male. We have had a very mild winter with little to no ground freeze but have lost a lot of ash trees to the emerald bore which has decimated the ash trees. with the trees gone so have the insects these guys love to feed on.
I watched a Piliated destroy a Maple tree stump that was infested with termites in a single day leaving a hole where the stump was.
When I was still able to use a tree climber stand to bow hunt I was dressed in full camo and head net I had one of these guys land on my shoulder and was looking me straight in the eye. It scared me silly to have this huge woodpecker sitting on my shoulder and I was praying he would decide not to take a bite out of my face or eye. After a few tense seconds I talked to him and told him he was a beautiful bird and to please don't peck my eye out. He cocked his head listening to me and then flew away.
I left out a sigh of relief and climbed down out of the tree done hunting for the day.
I've had many encounters with wildlife but this one was the scariest.

wvbuckbuster · Mar 14, 2023

I never see or hear one of these that the scene from the movie Jerimiah Johnson comes to mind where they were riding thru the Indian cemetery. Dan.

truck driver · Mar 16, 2023

Thanks for all the comments guys.
The big fellow has been coming back daily for a suit snack and is trying to eat me out of house and home buy suit for him.