Pileated Woodpecker at Chimney Rock Hawk Watch

We did see some hawks high in the sky at Chimney Rock Hawk Watch but the highlight was a pileated woodpecker.



The sequence below shows the woodpecker cleaning. It spent 5 minutes gathering leaves and throwing them from the nest.

Pileated Woodpecker: Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples FL

The pileated woodpecker is an amazing bird to watch. We observed one for about 15 minutes (while staking out the painted buntings.) It was the loud tap, tap that got our attention even though our backs were turned to where it was. Later in a different area, there were three making great showings, and they are just as beautiful in flight as they are to watch on the trees. We know we have posted a few too many, but it's hard to choose. The photos are of three different woodpeckers. We think its head looks like a troll doll in the second photo, and you can see the bark and wood chips are flying in the fourth. You can see his tongue in the last.

We'll post more later from Corkscrew, the beach, and another park we visited that is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail.

On a non-bird related topic, although bird watchers do have to eat so maybe it's on topic, we have to give a shout out to Simply Cupcakes in Naples. What nice people and great cupcakes! We highly recommend stopping in if you're in the area sometime. Last month while in Ft. Lauderdale, we checked out an Oprah favorite and a place we had seen on the Food Channel called We Take the Cake. Well, in our opinion, they don't take the cake at all compared to Simply Cupcakes.

Happy Bird Day

 

 

 

We went to John Chestnut, Sr. Park on Lake Tarpon in Clearwater, Florida, in hopes of spotting a limpkin. We had no such luck. As we were getting ready to leave, we heard a bird that sounded a bit like a kingfisher fly overhead. Chris noticed that it flew more like a woodpecker and was larger than a kingfisher. We followed it and immediately identified it as a Pileated Woodpecker by its size and distinctive "hair." Chris jumped for joy, but didn't scare it away. It stayed in our area for about 10 minutes in a few different trees and briefly interacted with a second one. What a happy bird day!!!

Florida Birds

It will take a while to sort through the photos, but here are four good ones from St. Pete.
Pileated Woodpecker, Roseate Spoonbill, Bald Eagles, Yellow-crowned Night Heron.