A Pileated was here

Sometimes there is no mistaking the work of the Pileated Woodpeckers. They are built to do extensive damage to wood.

This photograph is a perfect example of this fact from the website All About Birds:

The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.

When walking in the woods, often the first sign will be the debris field they create below the tree.

A male pileated foraging on the above tree

In my backyard, the pileateds have only made large excavations in dying or damaged trees. Most of the time when I see them foraging, they are low to the ground hunting on fallen logs or dead snags. This is one reason not to “clean up” fallen logs on the forest floor. The desire to tidy up our backyards can be very detrimental to the nature on our properties. As stated in All About Birds:

Pileated Woodpeckers rely on large, standing dead trees and fallen logs—something that property managers may consider undesirable. It’s important to maintain these elements both for the insect food they provide and for the many species of birds and mammals that use tree cavities.

The joy of a “woodsy” backyard means you will have pileateds to attract to your suet feeder

Today is the one year anniversary of BirdingZen.

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read and tell me how much you have enjoyed these posts. I have enjoyed sharing my passion with you and hope together we continue to build upon our appreciation for birds and all the nature that goes with them.

I have to thank Substack for being such a user-friendly platform that allows me to write and post media with incredible ease - no excuses for writer’s block because of computer frustration. Substack gives me the opportunity to publish my own newsletter, manage my own content and not be beholden to social media to display my posts. As for the reader, there is no advertising to have to scroll past - it is a clean visual presentation. The financial health of Substack relies on paid subscriptions and for that reason, I am going to add the paid subscriber option. I am grateful for all my subscribers, whether free or paid, so don’t feel obligated. If you are able to contribute to BirdingZen on Substack, I thank you in advance.

Onward and upward to another year. Here was my very first post - it’s a pileated anniversary!