"CHIPPING AWAY (Part 1)"

Pileated Woodpecker (Male) - 7 Photos

The following photos are of the male partner of a second Pileated Woodpecker, who will appear in a subsequent blog, "Chipping Away (Part 2)", (Photo #1 & Photo #2). 

Both woodpeckers were hard at work on a fallen tree, which probably due to the Spring thaw, was in the final stages of decay. The tree's demise could have been helped along with an insect infestation or perhaps the trunk, having sat on the ground for some time, had become an ideal environment for insects, such as beetles, to lay their larvae.

What was sad for a tree was a virtual gold mine for the woodpeckers. They were on this log for over an hour, chipping away at the soft wood, searching out insects & grubs hidden beneath. Chips and bark were flying everywhere (Photo #3). And there was a great deal of tongue exploration of newly excavated cavities (Photo #4 through Photo #6). It was only a fisherman, entering the creek close to the fallen tree, that caused both birds to take flight and land on a nearby tall tree.

And finally, (which was probably only one of several), the woodpecker struck "gold" or in this case a large grub (Photo #7). 

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7