Pileated Woodpecker - Grand Pic
As I concluded a lengthy birding hike recently I wanted to double check activity on the Ottawa River. I never made it down to the water. Instead, I became captivated by two male Pileated Woodpeckers, one a young bird and the other (I am assuming) its father. The birds were drilling for ants in a grassy area.
It is not often I see these amazing birds on the ground, and the behaviour (parent accompanying young bird) was something I had heard about but not observed in this way. I lay down on the grass as casually as I could, maintaining a distance from the birds and not making eye contact. The birds crisscrossed the area for about twenty minutes, and I was getting late for supper. In the meantime, I managed to get a number of decent images.
Pileated Woodpecker - Grand Pic
As I concluded a lengthy birding hike recently I wanted to double check activity on the Ottawa River. I never made it down to the water. Instead, I became captivated by two male Pileated Woodpeckers, one a young bird and the other (I am assuming) its father. The birds were drilling for ants in a grassy area.
It is not often I see these amazing birds on the ground, and the behaviour (parent accompanying young bird) was something I had heard about but not observed in this way. I lay down on the grass as casually as I could, maintaining a distance from the birds and not making eye contact. The birds crisscrossed the area for about twenty minutes, and I was getting late for supper. In the meantime, I managed to get a number of decent images.