WOODSY WOODPECKERS IN BACK BAY
Most of the time, you will either see it or hear it first—not both. Perhaps it’s a loud, rapid-fire series of “cackly” (yeah, we just made that term up) shrieks making you pivot in the direction of the sound, or catching sight of the underside a large black-and-white, red-crested bird bobbing its 2.5-foot wingspan as it passes overhead. This, friends, is the Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, to be precise. One of the largest birds on our continent, and the largest member of the Woodpecker family, Pileated Woodpeckers average 10-12 ounces in weight, 17-20 inches in length, and boast an impressive wingspan of up to 30 inches. Their population is estimated to be 2.6 million birds distributed in North America north of Mexico, including the United States as far north as Alaska, and Canada, according to the Nation Audubon Society. Life expectancy for these big birds averages 10-12 years. Pileated Woodpecker sexes are nearly identical in appearance, with the male sporting a small red horizontal cheek stripe which is not present on females.
WOODPECKER, WOODPECKER, WHERE ART THOU?
Picture a wooded setting with conifer and hardwood trees, like many areas here in Back Bay. Pileated Woodpeckers, these tree-loving “pecky” eaters, seek out mature “snags,” a standing dying or dead tree missing its top and branches, from Bald Cypress to Loblolly Pines to Sweet Gum, and more, for food and lodging! They also “bang their heads” and beaks into wood utility poles in search of food.
IF I WERE A CARPENTER (ANT), AND YOU WERE A PILEATED WOODPECKER, I’D WATCH MY BACK!
Despite the name Carpenter Ant, the ants that comprise more than 50 percent of the Pileated Woodpecker’s diet are not custom builders, but in fact deconstruct trees by chewing and mining their way through the trunks and limbs to create living spaces, or “galleries” for their insect colonies. According to the American Bird Conservancy, Pileated Woodpeckers routinely rout out these six-legged insects from their treehouses by pecking into the ant colonies and extricating them by the hundreds from the colonies using their sticky, barbed, 4-inch tongues. Speaking of tongues, all woodpeckers have retractable tongues which wrap around their skulls when not procuring food, and function as brain-protecting shock absorbers when woodpeckers are hammering into trees. Besides Carpenter ants, Pileated Woodpeckers diet consists of other ant species, beetle larvae, termites, flies, caterpillars, cockroaches (yeesh!), grasshoppers, fruits, and nuts.
SETTLE IN, RAISE SOME KIDS, AND STAY FOREVER!
Pileated Woodpeckers are year-round residents of Back Bay, with life-mated pairs claiming areas as large as 150 acres for their territory. The noisy drumming and repetitious calls you may hear from these birds are often reminders to other birds of this status. Courtship displays, conversely, are more visual: open wing display (showing off white wing patch), raising their crest, back-and-forth head swinging, gliding flight, are employed to attract a lifelong mate. When Pileated Woodpecker pairs choose a nesting site, males and females may tap or drum on wood repeatedly. The breeding nest site is typically a cavity in a dead tree or in dead branch of a live tree, sometimes in utility pole, usually 15-80' above ground. Pileated Woodpeckers often create a new cavity each year, with both sexes helping to quarry the space. Preparing the nest may take a month or more, before the female Pileated Woodpecker lays four-six eggs. Incubation can take up to three weeks. Pileated Woodpecker chicks fledge within a month but may remain with or near their parent for more than six months. If one member of a mated pair of Pileated Woodpeckers dies, the surviving bird will call out to other birds outside of its claimed territory in the effort to find a new mate.
HERE AND ALMOST GONE AND . . . HERE AGAIN!
Pileated Woodpecker populations experienced radical decline here in the eastern United States in the 18th and 19th centuries because of clear-cutting of forests for the timber industry and farming. With state and federal protections implemented in the 1920’s, forest regrowth enabled the Pileated Woodpecker population to recover, and the species is not currently considered endangered. Keep your ears and eyes open for Pileated Woodpeckers this spring.
Need some help in identifying Pileated Woodpecker calls, or just want to learn more about these amazing birds? Visit:
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/pileated-woodpecker
https://abcbirds.org/bird/pileated-woodpecker/
All photos courtesy of southeastern Virginia wildlife enthusiasts and photographers.
