Pileated Woodpeckers---In Town

In all the time I spend sitting in the forest looking for food----that would mostly be deer but then turkeys are also on the list, I seldom see Pileated Woodpeckers. They are out there and I do hear them bickering and occasionally one will flash by.

The trees they consume are everywhere, those would be the ones that are literally ripped apart by the Pileated's huge dagger bills. There are large chunks of wood scattered hither and yon after these big guys get done looking for fat grubs. Still, I seldom really get a good look at one of these beauties. They are, I always thought, illusive birds of the forest.

But today, here in the front yard of my neighbor, here in urban Amherst, two of them frolicked on the side of Sugar Maple tree, acting like a couple of citified birds not much different than Crows. As I approached with my camera, they initially held to the back side of the tree. They seemed to be playing, or courting, even though it is early January---but it was 45 degrees. Had global warming confused them?

After a bit of waiting, they moved around the tree posturing and occasionally displaying their large wing span. Their red heads stood out like fire in the gray day. Round and round they went, jumping to the ground, scampering up the trunk, prying off chunks of bark as if to demonstrate strength rather than looking for bugs. It was a very live tree which they must have known. It was all a game of some sort, but very much to my enjoyment. Never have I watched a Piliated for 20 minutes.

To top it off, a gray squirrel scampered down the trunk and appeared to be interested in joining the event. He was a urban critter and possibly he too was surprised by the non urban intruders. The squirrel jerked back and forth either trying to intimidate the birds or simply wanting to test the waters, maybe see if they were terrorist, out of towners. The birds appear as warriors I suppose, warriors with war bonnets and big knives for mouths. One jab to the squirrel and it might be an tragic death there in the frontyard of America. He kept his distance from the birds as they refused to give ground.

In time a diminutive, cotton-topped grandma drifted by, walking down the road never seeing the event. The party of three disappeared across the street. Made my day to say the least. Urbanized Pileateds, I can take it.