By Mark Wralstad | 2025-05-14
Look familiar?
On 05/10/2025 08:41 am by Randy Strauss | Missouri River wetlands, Nebraska
Although fairly common in parts of the Eastern USA, very few Pileated Woodpeckers live in Nebraska. I waited three hours in an area where a few live to get this photo. The bit of red along its cheek identifies it as a male. Soon after I took the photo, he and his mate briefly hunted for insects in a nearby tree before flying off into another portion of the forest. Some birders think this species of woodpecker served as the inspiration for Walter Lantz's Woody the Woodpecker cartoon character. Not only does it look like Woody, but this species sounds like him too. What do you think?
Canon SL2 DSLR, Celestron 4SE OTA, Manfrotto tripod, f/13, 1/400th second, ISO 800
Sharpened.