Proof of Residence!

  The other day, I went out to gather hickory nuts for the fireplace.  The nuts burn slow and produce a great amount of heat.  Since the nuts are too hard to crack to be of any other use, I figure I might as well make use of them somehow.  Once a fire is started in the old woodstove and has burned down to a good pile of hot coals, I can pour a gallon bucket of nuts into the firebox and they will do a slow burn for hours.  Keep in mind that this is a woodstove that can be completely closed so I do not have to worry about any sparks or nutshell pieces popping out on the hardwood floors.  Once the hotplate is placed back on the top of the stove, I just let it burn.  It sure feels fine!

  On my way back from gathering the nuts, I spied two large bird feathers on the ground.  Hmmm....some bird must be molting!  The feathers were a striking black and white with the black at the tip.  Each feather was nigh on seven inches in length and judging from the shape, one was from each wing...left and right.  From the size of the feathers and from the color arrangement, I knew right away that these were from the Pileated Woodpecker that visited the yard.  I have had a pair hanging around for quite some time now and last year, they raised two little ones to adulthood.  When the parent birds brought the youngsters to the yard, I was simply elated.  It is nice to see that the birds are thriving here on the Bayou.

  Pileated Woodpeckers are the largest of all woodpeckers that inhabit the area.  At one time, the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers held that reign but since their near extinction, they are not known to be around here any more.  Now the Pileated reigns as king woodpecker this far south.  The bird is normally quite shy around humans and prefers to stay deep in the woods.  I know for a fact that their nest is in a dead tree far down in the creek bed.  Still, they visit the yard often which brings a smile.  I like the birds and their unusual look.  The birds are mostly black and white but have a striking flame-red, triangular-shaped crest.  Males have a red stripe on each cheek.  

A family of Pileated Woodpeckers that visited the yard last year.

  The woodpeckers use their beaks and strong neck muscles to drum on dead trees as a method of claiming territory.  Their heavy drumming can be heard echoing through the creek bed in the late afternoon.  They also use the large beak to drill rectangular holes in dead trees as they search for ants and beetles.  A much deeper hole will be drilled to use as a nesting site.  In the tree chosen for a nest, the Pileated Woodpecker will drill up to sixteen holes that are all connected to the nest cavity. These tunnels and holes are "doorways" that allow for easy escape if a predator enters the nesting cavity.  The female lays up to five eggs in the cavity but usually only two chicks ever survive.  

  Finding the two feathers means that my woodpeckers are doing well and will soon be nesting once again.  Perhaps I will have more visitors to the yard come springtime.