Bird #97 — Pileated Woodpecker

dryocopus (from drys, an oak tree, and kopis, cleaver) pileatus (crested)

Wednesday, December 26, 1979 — 2:00 pm

McNaughton, Wisconsin

In the afternoon, my fiancee and I took a walk along a narrow road through the woods.  We hadn’t gone very far when a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers flew out of the trees and landed on the trunk of a tall, dead pine about 50 feet from where we stood.  We slowly walked toward them and got within 30 feet of the base of the tree before they took off.  When they flew, they made no noise at all.  I was impressed by how quiet and inconspicuous they were for such large birds.  And they looked positively prehistoric.  We were impressed.

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