1/30/2011

Chip Off the Old Block

Today was a sunny winter day, crisp but no wind,  a perfect day for a look around the yard. It was also a perfect day to  climb up a tree
and beat the pulp out of it
...if you're a Pileated Woodpecker of course.
There is no mistaking the sound of a Pileated Woodpecker pounding the living bugs out of a branch. They move purposely up one branch, and then another, foraging their way through the woods.
There is no such thing as subtlety either. This is a bird that knows what he wants, and will go to great lengths to get it. Chip-off-the-old-block is his middle name. And he leaves large chips of bark
and wood all over the ground -a sure sign of his visit.
In Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion, he calls the Pileated Woodpecker (aka Dryocopus pileatus) the slightly unseemly
Log Cock.
But if you think about it, there's the Cock of the Walk  -  or the flamboyant rooster who is master of the chicks.
And this guy, old Chip,  is definitely the biggest bird on the tree
in this neck of the woods!
So Log Cock it is - A finely feathered pecker indeed.

7 comments:

nomore said...

Very beautiful Chip off old block..the big birds...!

FAB said...

Definitely top of the pile when it comes to Woodies. Lovely post Susan.

Ruth said...

I have missed seeing a Pileated this winter although I have seen their work. She is lovely.

Dave said...

So many puns...so little nerve...
Lovely pics though!

Johnny Nutcase said...

Love these guys, but never managed to get any decent photos! Glad this one posed for ya! Great post!

Kelly said...

...fun post! You made me laugh with "was also a perfect day to climb up a tree and beat the pulp out of it"
...liked the bit of history too...Log Cock is great.

DUTA said...

Your words and your pictures really make the pecker look and sound " the biggest bird on the tree...".