• Tuesday-What'sUP August 14 - 09:47 am

When Frederick W. Koski is out and about with his camera, you just know you're going to see something up close and personal, that you normally can't get near. Today's photos are prime examples of that, with a good look at a Pileated Woodpecker at work on a tree. He's looking for a dinner consisting of carpenter ants, which is their main source of nourishment, along with other insects, wild fruits and nuts to round out their diet. The holes the Pileated makes when looking for ants or insects, often become nesting holes for a number of other critters, including swifts, owls, ducks, bats and pine martens. So not only do these large woodpeckers decrease the insect population, but they help provide lodging to their fellow creatures of the U.P.

Love woodpeckers, except when they do too much damage to the trees! They sure are pretty and fun to watch!

Cool pictures!

Radical looking bird.

Wonder if woodpeckers ever have headaches? The pileated is a beautiful bird. Have seen some several times but at a distance.

And are they noisy....I've got a few that come into the feeders in the winter, and they are hanging around in the tree line in the summer, and they let you know when they are around. There are a few crows there as well, and when it's snack time.....it gets REAL noisy! I throw them old bread and chips and stuff...they love it all, esp cheetos!

I wonder if that's this bird's tongue showing as it sucks the insects out os the tree? Neat shot!

Yes, Kay, that is its tongue.

On another note, I just saw a float plane on the MTU
Bridge webcam! Unfortunately it took off out of
range of the camera.

It's amazing to see a tree almost totally dismantled
by one of these woodpeckers! Eating carpenter ants
can only be a good thing ~ they are sneaky
destructive ~ at least Woody let's you know what
he's up to. Thanks for the great pictures!