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Index of Subjects
Pileated observed making&nbsp
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Here is a female Pileated woodpecter feeding her young in a nest
cavity...=C2=A0
http://abolitphotos.exposuremanager.com/p/birds/_mg_9350youngmalepileatedwo=
odpeckerbeingfedbymother_2
=C2=A0
All the best,
=C2=A0
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=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
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On Thu, 27 Nov 2014 18:25:03 -0400, David & Alison Webster wrote:
Hi Ian & All,=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 =C2=A0=C2=A0=
=C2=A0 =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 =C2=A0=C2=
=A0=C2=A0 Nov 27, 2014
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 Thanks for the comments.
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 About the time I sent those images of a "Pileated" woo=
dpecker
nesting cavity on Nov 12=C2=A0I realized that it could well be the cavity
of a smaller woodpecker e.g. Hairy. My only reason for the Pileated
label was having seen/heard Pileated on or near that tree about 2011,
the presumed Pileated activity about 50 paces away (Apr 4, 2013 e-mail)
and the=C2=A0 Pileated=C2=A0observed making=C2=A0a=C2=A0hole=C2=A0about 200=
paces away (Apr
15, 2013 e-mail); both pasted below.
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 According to the Cornell site, a Pileated=C2=A0 entran=
ce hole
should be ~3.5" diameter=C2=A0with nesting cavity 10-24" deep. Based on=C2=
=A0my
photos that entrance was about 1.6" in diameter and the cavity was
about 15" deep. So for the time being one should regard my images as
being of a Woodpecker nesting cavity.
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 Those nesting hole pieces are currently on top of the =
wood
tier, holding plastic down, and I will=C2=A0measure the dimensions directly=
when I=C2=A0have a chance because a scale in images can be deceptive due to=
parallax.
=C2=A0
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 That Apr 15, 2013 tree was topped by Arthur but I don'=
t know
whether the break was above, at or below the Pileated hole. I had
intended to leave both snag & top as wildlife habitat but, now that the
question of entrance hole dimensions has come up, I will try to get
measurements if feasible.
=C2=A0
Yt, Dave Webster Kentville
=C2=A0
=C2=A0
START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\
Dear All,=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=
=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 Apr 15, 2013
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 On Apr 4, I split some Poplar windfall wood chunked Dec =
26 some 200
paces from the Pileated hole (below).
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 On Apr 6, I split the rest and noticed Pileated chips ne=
arby 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.
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 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=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 tuck=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=
=A0 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.
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 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.
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 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.
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 On an unrelated note, I saw on Apr 4 where a Squirrel ha=
d 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 som=
e
point.
YT, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: "David & Alison Webster"
To:
Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2013 6:41 PM
Subject: Pileated WP
> Dear All,=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=
=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=
Apr 4, 2013
> =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 While in North Alton this afternoon I noticed that a P=
ileated
> 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.
>
> =C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0 Is Mid-May a safe time ?
> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
eND OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0
----- Original Message -----
From: Ian McLaren
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2014 12:16 PM
Subject: [NatureNS] Pileated Woodpecker nest holes
David et al:
Rot appears to be a choice among Pileated oopdpeckers, as indicated
in snippets from "The Birsds of N. Am". on-in.
[In the east]=C2=A0"The majority of nest trees were dead (Table 3), and
most of the nest trees fell over, broke apart, or were cracked by the
following year and were unsuitable for nesting again . . ." =C2=A0=C2=A0
And:=C2=A0 "In Montana, roost trees contained more entrance holes and had=
a higher basal area in surrounding forest than at nest trees
(McClelland and McClelland 1999). In Arkansas, nests were in decayed
dead trees that typically were not suitable for nesting a second year;
roosts were primarily in larger, taller, live trees with multiple
cavities . . ."
The second snippet is interesting. Does anyone know about the making
and use of roost cavities here?
Cheers, Ian
Ian McLaren
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