Woodpecker in Highland Park Tree Stump

We were walking across the street to the playground and saw two woodpeckers pecking away on this rotting tree stump. One flew away.        iPhone shots today.

You can watch the one pecking away in this video .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg6P9UdKswQ

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17 thoughts on “Woodpecker in Highland Park Tree Stump

  1. Wonderful Pileated Woodpecker!! They are not in the area I live in so I have yet to see one. They do love those old rotted stumps filled with bugs. Thanks for the video!

  2. Happy Sunday morning. I know exactly where you are. I have Woodpeckers in Highland Park and have seen them in the distance on occasion. I have never seen one this close to the ground. The light and shadows combined with the beautiful colors of the bird create a unique opportunity. How fortunate to capture all of it in one photo. I expect that you needed to be quick. Maybe Mother Nature has not given up on us yet. Thanks Ruth. This will brighten my day for sure.

  3. I saw the same thing twice in one day, on two different tree stumps. The trees had been cut down and just the flat stump remained, but there were obviously enough bugs left to keep the woodpecker(s) happy. I’m not sure if it was the same woodpecker or two different ones, they were several blocks apart. Unfortunately, I was driving my car and couldn’t stop for either one, but it was a great fleeting sight! Usually I hear them and then have to look high up in the trees to find them. Very seldom do you see them so low. They are SO big close up!

  4. We have a pileated that lives somewhere near our back yard; he frequents a few of our dead trees OFTEN. Fortunately he has no interest in pecking our house. Unfortunately some of our neighbors have not been so lucky…

      • Yes, they are vigorous little buggers. Supposedly a reflective surface scares them away (e.g., mirror, mylar balloon, etc.). The house to the right has a mirror, and the one to the left a balloon. Since the instillation of these items, I have heard and seen less pecking on their houses – so who knows, maybe it actually works?

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