Sights and Sounds at the Summer Place

photo courtesy of Dennis Swayze

The summer place provides a variety of birds…ranging from small wrens to the larger Crow like in size Pileated Woodpecker.
They can often be heard at the rear and side yard where there is heavy bush and mature trees.
Both male and female are similar in appearance other than the male having a red strip on the low jaw.

There are tell tail signs that a Pileated has been hard at work searching for food…look for long rectangular or oval holes it excavates in search of ants.
You may hear them long before you see them…their call being a loud wuck, wuck, wuck that can be heard at a great distance.
They may be difficult to find…since they could be on the ground or high in a tree.

Back Yard Birding

photo courtesy of Dennis Swayze

When you’re stuck in the city for one reason or another and unable to get out Birding/Owling…take advantage of the next best thing.
Didn’t have to travel far for this up-close visitor…Pileated Woodpecker came to check out the peanut log feeder.

Too bad I hadn’t yet filled the log with peanuts or she may have stuck around longer.

Hard at Work

photo courtesy of Dennis Swayze

When arriving back at the summer place after a morning trip out-n-about I found my hired help (Pileated Woodpecker) hard at work aerating the side yard. These birds are Crow like in size and spend their days searching for ants and grubs on the ground or in trees…with side visits to the suet feeder.
Given the size they have the ability to do some major wood chipping on trees where they have found a food source.
Since we have a lot of Old Growth trees that have seen better days it’s the perfect spot for them and often hear/see them.