Big Bird....big appetite

[MrTom]

I was sitting here are the compute a while ago when some movement caught my eye. I looked out the window right in front of me to find this critter hanging on my suet log.

Yea, I know, the picture isn't too clear but the window is dirty from rain a week ago and then it turned miserable cold so I haven't gotten to clean it and then there's the screen too.

This suet log is about 7 feet out from the window. We usually see the Downy, Hairy and Red-Bellied woodpeckers here but every once in a while one of these big critters will grace us. This guy came hungry and stayed on the suet for about four minutes, time enough to get the picture and holler at Ma to come watch. This big fella made my day.

 

[ronlaughlin]

Only seen one of them in all of my life.

 

[GM54-120]

Pileated woodpeckers are fairly rare. Ive only seen a dozen or so.

 

[MrTom]

They're fairly common here. In town its a treat to see them up close at feeders, but I see quite a few each year while deer hunting. They seem to prefer deciduous forests, but they'll play in pines too. They seem driven to more residential areas after the snow flies and is why we see them here at the house. In warm weather we never see them here at home.

The one in the picture as mentioned is only about 7 feet away, but he's not aware of me in the house. He's been back several times between when I posted the picture and now but the sun comes in the window now and he can see me sitting here. Once I'm noticed he's gone, but keeps coming back to check. Its sort of comical. I managed one other picture after the first but its no better than #1.

This guy has an appetite and has cleaned the suet out of two of the three 2" holes bored thru the 4" birch log. I render the fat taken off my deer kills and mix chunky peanut butter into the liquid fat, then I pour some in empty commercial suet trays for cage feeders and pour the rest into Tupperware bowls and left to set up. I use the stuff in the bowls to fill the log feeder.

 

[HC]

I enjoy watching them from the deer stands. Some years I see them, some years I don’t.

 

[ShawnT]

Look a lot like the red headed wood peckers in Ohio. Those devils have almost destroyed one on my Deer shacks.