I spotted the pileated woodpecker, again, (this time from my window in my den) climbing up the tree across the street. I shouted to my wife to glimpse it it but it was too late: it had flown away. She had never seen one. Its red crest and large size were unmistakable. I assured her she would get another chance to see it: the bird would be back.

A Present On My Birthday

Author: siggy

We were only two or three miles from my house returning from my birthday lunch.  A pileated woodpecker crossed the road right in front of our car fifteen feet up.  Its red crest was unmistakable.  My wife had never seen one before.  In the past nine years I have only seen a couple.  Both of us were thrilled.  You don’t see them too often.  You are more liable to hear their wild cackle than to see them.  I considered the sighting a present for my birthday.

This is the second day in a row I heard the distinct wild cackle of a piliated woodpecker.  I strained to spot it in the woods across from me but no luck.  In eight years I have only seen one three or four times.

The first time I spotted a really large bird alight on a stump eighty yards away.  I quickly ran in the house to grab my binoculars and then was able to identify it.  It is an over twelve inch high exotic looking bird with a red crest.

They have somewhat come back for the woods have grown back.  I don’t know why it was so important for me to actually see the bird but it was.  Nevertheless, I was thrilled to hear its call and know it was in the neighborhood again.