Pileated Woodpecker Returns

  I suppose I've seen a pileated woodpecker no more than three times since moving here 34 years ago. But I hear friends talk of them being regular visitors to their yards. Our nearest neighbor to the south says she regularly has one visit.

 Maybe we're just not watching closely enough. We certainly have a wooded area adjacent to our yard so I'd think the locale would be perfect. There's no end of downy and red-bellied woodpeckers so why not the pileated?

 A few days ago Tom was in the kitchen getting something to eat when he scared away a pileated who was having a snack on our suet feeder. As they're as large as chicken, it presented quite a sight. But Tom's movement immediately scared the woodpecker away. By the time Tom called me and I got there, the bird was gone.

 Of course I've kept an eye out ... and so has Tom. Again a couple of days ago he was in the kitchen when the pileated landed on the suet and just as quickly took off. Tom called me as before. Too late.

 Later I saw the bird on a tree in the meadow so I grabbed my camera and cranked in some telephoto, It isn't a good picture but it certainly proves the pileated was nearby. And the bird was staying in the area. The bird looks oddly prehistoric to me.

 Yesterday it happened again. Tom was in the kitchen and we watched the bird take off, fly between trees at the north of our yard and also in the meadow. He even returned to the suet feeder but was spooked when I moved to aim my camera  at him. They are as skittish a bird as I've seen.

 So how was I to watch the suet feeder and be alerted to his presence without being there? It hit me that I could use one of our wireless security cameras (a Wyze) to keep an eye on the suet feeder and even alert me to movement.

 I set up the camera, aimed it at the feeder and went into the living room and sat down on the sofa beside Tom. I was getting ready to set up a motion alert when I saw the pileated arrive. I lay the phone down and walked gingerly to the kitchen. I had the camera already lying there and ready to go. I crept to the rear of the kitchen beside the refrigerator.

 He kept looking about but he didn't leave. I began taking pictures ...

 Got him! In fact I probably took a dozen pictures. This was the best. A pileated is in constant movement. They never stay still. Had I more time to set the camera to a faster shutter speed, the shots would have been better. Most are a bit blurry. But at least now I have him recorded.