Here is a recent post from the Union Bay Watch Blog published by Larry Hubbell, long-time local photographer and birder. Here also is an in-depth article about Larry and his work.
Goldie?
Spotting Chip, our local male Pileated Woodpecker, this week was like running into an old friend. The sight of him brought a smile to my face. My pulse quickened in anticipation. I was hoping to learn more about his behavior, to make sure he looked healthy and maybe even find out if he and his mate were still together. They mate for life, but life is dangerous, especially in a city full of fast-moving vehicles.
The first thing I noticed was the residential cavity he was excavating. The hole was shaped like an egg. In my experience, the Local Pileated Woodpeckers generally create this shape when building nests or roost sites. When prospecting for food, e.g. primarily carpenter ants or beetle larva, their holes are generally shaped quite differently.
Here is an example of a feeding hole in a fairly healthy tree. Since the exterior wood has not begun to decay, the rectangular shape of the hole is fairly precise.
This photo shows a well-used, flat-bottomed nesting hole. As the birds enter and exit the holes, the holes tend to open up and the shape may evolve, somewhat. Young resident birds will also pick at the edges in their apparent impatience with the confines of the nest. This 2018 nest hole had seen a lot of use by this point. The young were almost ready to fledge.
Above the nest, you can also see a fresh feeding excavation. Notice the bright color of the unoxidized wood. Locally, all the Union Bay nesting trees I have seen, have been in dead or dying Red Alder trees. When the trees reach their last stages of decay they become quite soft and just right for nest building or easy feeding.
November seems way too early for Chip to be nest building, even though this is a dead Red Alder tree. However, I have seen a Pileated Woodpecker excavate a new roosting site at this time of year. I suspect when the rains come and the winds start blowing, the snags that contain existing roosting sites are more likely to fall. Most likely this drives the need for new nightly sanctuaries.
After a few minutes, Chip called out while he worked. Much to my surprise, his mate answered. Chip's mate has been generally silent in the past. Seldom have I heard her make a sound. When Chip heard her response, many of his feathers became erect and he stopped work. Notice how his top knot is still partially erect. It is more obvious when compared with the previous photo. He certainly appeared to be listening.
A new friend found and pointed out the location of his mate. She was much closer to the ground and searching for food.
Females have black malar stripes on their cheeks, unlike the red on males. They both continued their efforts for a while before taking off and flying away.
I was able to visually track Chip and notice that he landed on a telephone pole. I ran uphill and around the ravine to get in position to watch what happened next.
After a short while, his mate landed on the pole below him. She quickly began 'hitching' her way up the pole. A Pileated will momentarily balance on their tail while both feet reach up to grab the pole (or a tree) at a higher level. Then, they pull themselves higher, set their tail again and repeat the process. This must use less energy than just flying up to the desired height. (They will often use the same process to reach the top of a tree or snag just before taking off to fly to the next tree.)
Each time they move up, the head stretches out away from the pole before they pull themselves up and in again.
I never got close enough to see the detailed makeup of Chip's mate. I would have liked to determine if she was the same female from last year, whom I called Goldie. Her forehead seemed darker, her irises might have been lighter and she sounded more vocal, but I could not be certain as the daylight began to fade. The changes may have been the result of growing maturity, or she may have been replaced by a different female. My photos were not crisp enough to confirm my impressions.
I watched every day for the rest of the week, hoping to come across them again and get a better look. Sadly, luck did not smile on my endeavor.
On the other hand, as I was leaving I noticed and photographed a primary feather from a Pileated Woodpecker.
It looks to me like this is the third primary feather given the ratio of roughly 40% white versus 60% black coloring and the specific arrangement of the colors. Also, given that the leading edge of the primary feathers is often smaller than the trailing edge, I believe this feather is from a righthand wing.
I am always amazed that nature has given them the ability to grow so many unique two-toned feathers. It is also incredibly interesting that the white is generally only visible from below and only when a bird is in flight. I wonder if its primary value is as a mating display.
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Is the tree which produced these leaves native to Union Bay?
Maidenhair Tree: It is not native to the Americas. However, it may be one of the oldest living tree species. It also may be more commonly known as Ginkgo biloba - which is also the scientific name. Clicking on the link will take you to the extensive Wikipedia write up, which I found very interesting.
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