I often hear Pileated Woodpeckers Heckle and Jekylling in this woods and sometimes see them as well. This tree was ripped up like this over the course of less than a week. I know because I have been watching the hole high up in it for owl action...none yet. Quite a feat for a simple bird.
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4 comments:
That's crazy! Must have been enough food there to keep it busy.
I think the whole tree must be riddled with some kind of grub. My girlfriend and I birded near it Saturday and a pair came in to yell at us.
WOW! I didn't know they would actually kill a tree!
Linda, in the end it's the insects and their larvae that kill the tree. The woodpecker is just digging them out for lunch. The Pileated Woodpeckers can really tear up a tree. Sometimes they fall right down from their digging. This whole tree is spongy inside and I don't expect it will stand long. I am hopeful of learning in spring what is using the hole in the top
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