Picture of the Day: Pileated Woodpecker

A Pileated Woodpecker pecking at a tree

Yesterday during my walk in Pacific Spirit Park, I heard a knocking kind of noise. I looked to my left and saw a woodpecker! Specifically a Pileated woodpecker which is native to North America. 

He/she was not high up on the tree but just above my head, about a metre and a half away. Unlike the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker, who would drill a hole into a tree in seconds, this one would lean back then peck at the wood, with the chips flying, then crane his neck back, turning it left and maybe right and then his beak would chisel into the wood again.

The bird with a red trim at the top followed by black and white on its head, and the black the rest of its body, continued with its task to either create a cavity to raise its young, or try to extract insects from the tree.

Pileated woodpeckers are also known for making rectangular carvings in trees and this one did too!