Chasing Ontario’s biggest woodpecker
Active birds starting to build their nests this time of year
I still remember the first time I heard and saw a pileated woodpecker. It was shortly after I moved to the Kawartha Lakes. I was out paddling on the Pigeon River when I heard this blood curdling scream in a nearby tree. I looked up and there was the biggest woodpecker I had ever seen.
Pileated woodpeckers are fairly common throughout much of Canada but this was the first time I had seen one up close. I was impressed. Pileated woodpeckers are about 18 inches tall, roughly the size of a crow and are the biggest woodpeckers we have in Canada. Their call is very loud and certainly gets one’s attention.
At this time of year pileated woodpeckers are quite active. They are beginning their mating season and are starting to build their nests. Pairs can often be seen flying around together searching for insects in the bark of trees. One of their main sources of food is carpenter ants and they will bore extensive cavities into trees or dead logs in search of these delicacies.
When they are ready to mate they begin the nest-building process. They nest in cavities that they bore into trees, most often in a dead tree. Usually they create a new nest each year so old nests are often used by other birds or animals.
The male does most of the beginning work on the nest, but later on in the process the female joins in. He begins the nest by hammering with his large beak from the outside, but once the nest gets deep enough he climbs inside and finishes the work from inside.
One can sometimes hear the muffled sound of a pileated woodpecker working inside the nest. Then every few minutes it picks up the wood chips in its beak and throws them out the hole. Once the carving is all done the nest is ready. They do not line it with anything except a few leftover wood chips.
Pileated woodpeckers are doing quite well and their populations are actually increasing.
In the past few weeks I have come across several pairs. One of the more interesting ones I saw was busy eating wild berries. I had heard of this but had never seen one actually doing it. It was fascinating to watch how it gripped the grape vines in every possible angle and gobbled down grape after grape. When it was done it gave a satisfied scream and flew off.
It is hard to get flight shots of pileated woodpeckers. They fly quite fast and with an exaggerated undulating motion. They flap their wings a couple of times and then tuck them in by their sides like a rocket and coast before they flap their wings again. It makes it quite hard to follow them with the camera.
I hope I can find a pileated nest site this year so that I can capture some photos during the nesting season. It is always thrilling to see one of these large woodpeckers, but is even more memorable if one can watch them interacting with their young ones and feeding them in the nest cavity.