4th of July Visitor

Yesterday, on the fourth of July, we had an unexpected visitor. He greeted us with a loud thud on our upper deck. I looked out, expecting to see an injured bird, or possibly a misguided roman candle but instead was pleasantly surprised to see a VERY recently fledged, VERY young Pileated Woodpecker. He was desperately trying to negotiate a grip on a somewhat smooth, narrow railing. We watched as he slipped and slid and flapped and flopped around. I grabbed my camera and, trying not to add to his frustration, took a few shots through the kitchen window.

We have seen a pair of Pileated woodpeckers at our feeder for the past several years and was I was happy to see they are a breeding pair. After the young one left, I looked up a few facts about him. The males are 16.5″ tall with a 29″ wing span. This young one may have 2 — 4 siblings. They are not endangered, but their closest relative, the Ivory Billed Woodpecker is nearly  extinct and no longer found in the US. I was delighted to see that the first item on their long list of favorite foods was — ANTS. And maybe that is why they hang around my neighborhood. Everyone in my neighborhood complains of ants in their house and this includes even the most fastidious housekeepers! I have heard rumors that we live on a miles long ant hill.