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Dear All, Apr 15, 2013
On Apr 4, I split some Poplar windfall wood chunked Dec 26 some 200
paces from the Pileated hole (below).
On Apr 6, I split the rest and noticed Pileated chips nearby but could
not see.where the chips had come from. On Apr 7 I worked there briefly,
clearing space for a tier, and noticed more chips.
Today I started piling above split wood and soon became aware of
Pileated activity in the the tree about one pace from the end of the tier;
first as falling chips while I was cutting runners with the chain saw and
then (after removing ear plugs) tuck tuck tuck (like a one-lunger on
idle and far enough away to be barely audible) and with about 1/2 of the
tail sticking out from the hole and upward. After a few minutes of this it
would back out of the hole, reach in and down, pull its head back out and
flick 2 or 3 chips to the right.
It did not seem at all disturbed by my working there but acted anxious
and took off when I tried to take a picture. Within minutes of my starting
to work again it came back and resumed work on the nest cavity. I was there
about 90 min and it worked most of this time; except when I spooked it with
the camera and once when it flew to a nearby Ash, cackled, moved upward in
the Ash and then flew back to the hole.
I have watched Pileated feeding many times but not seen a nest cavity
being excavated. The surprise was how muted the sound is. Making a hole in
wood parallel to the grain is very difficult unless you have a relief hole
drilled first and can see; so how they manage is a mystery. This tree is
free of Fomes brackets but the tree center may be softened by fungal
invasion.
On an unrelated note, I saw on Apr 4 where a Squirrel had left a litter
of White Pine cone scales on wood cut Dec 26. But the nearest White Pine is
about 200 yards away (400 yards as the Squirrel runs across, up, along,
down...). The attraction here is perhaps the shelter provided by the partly
upturned SE facing stump of the windfall; used by Ruffed Grouse also at some
point.
YT, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: "David & Alison Webster" <dwebster@glinx.com>
To: <NatureNS@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2013 6:41 PM
Subject: Pileated WP
> Dear All, Apr 4, 2013
> While in North Alton this afternoon I noticed that a Pileated
> Woodpecker (to judge from the size of the chips and size of the hole)
> recently made a nest hole well up in a Poplar. I want to avoid the
> immediate area until I am reasonably sure they have either settled in or
> moved on.
>
> Is Mid-May a safe time ?
> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
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