Yesterday in the forest

[bffulgham]

Here's a link to a couple of shots and a poor video of a pileated from March 2012

http://www.bfulgham.com/JAlbum/Reorg/20 ... ndex.html#

Fascinating birds.

[reible]

...

When I lived up north I never saw a woodpecker except for one my hunting buddy shoot thinking it was a pheasant.(never hunted with him again) but I did see a lot of holes they made.

However here in Florida they are very common and as I mentioned have some annoying habits.

These are typical pheasants in our parts:

IMG_5663sc.jpg (860.2 KiB) Viewed 928 times

Most likely best that you didn't go hunting with him again.

Ed

[reible]

Here's a link to a couple of shots and a poor video of a pileated from March 2012

http://www.bfulgham.com/JAlbum/Reorg/20 ... ndex.html#

Fascinating birds.

Thanks!

Yes they are very interesting birds. Far to often I've just seen the white undersides of the wings are they head out of site....

Ed

[Ed in Tampa]

...

When I lived up north I never saw a woodpecker except for one my hunting buddy shoot thinking it was a pheasant.(never hunted with him again) but I did see a lot of holes they made.

However here in Florida they are very common and as I mentioned have some annoying habits.

These are typical pheasants in our parts:

IMG_5663sc.jpg

Most likely best that you didn't go hunting with him again.

Ed

We were hunting in southern Ohio at the time.
Yep that is pheasants that I know and yes shooting at something that you haven't properly identified is reason enough not to go hunting with him again. I didn't want to chance being shot
mistaken for a squirrel.
From your video you can see how precise they work digging a hole. Imagine two of them ripping dead bark from a tree eating the bugs they find. Seriously it looked like it was snowing pine bark.
The termites/beetles were so numerous in the tree before they started that standing near the tree you could hear bugs eating the wood. My neighbor from an area that didn't have termites was fascinated by the bugs sounds. Then the birds came and in no time there was tree stripped of all it's bark and total silence every bug was gone.
Interesting how nature has a plan