Last weekend, Pamela and I took a ride to find Bohemian Waxwings (a venture in which we were successful in seeing the birds, but unfortunately, no photos.) After seeing the waxwings and enjoying a nice lunch, we took a more scenic route home. While driving and chatting, I noted a large bird out of the corner of my eye fly up to a pole on a power-line cut. At the size it was and the fact there there were no horizontal perches in the vicinity, I knew right away it had to be a Pileated Woodpecker. (And frankly, if you hadn't picked up on it by looking at the layout of this page, these are easily my favorite bird in North America, so I am pretty attuned to them.) A quick u-turn and pulling off the road got us some ok looks before flying a little further off. I grabbed the camera and decided to walk up the road to see what I could get for pic. The bird called a few times, and then I heard another bird call back from where we parked. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a second bird fly to the same wood pole where we'd seen the first bird. There were plenty of sizable holes, so figuring that they'd be staying close, I wandered back, and was treated to having both the male and female, hitching up and down a few different poles poking their heads into various cavities, and all in good light.
PS - as always click on the photos to see larger versions!
And to see some great bird photos from around the world, check out:
