Not a shocker by any means to have Pileateds here, but happy to say the neighborhood pair appears to be checking out my yard for nest sites. The male has been visiting the suet daily for a few weeks with quick visits before dashing off. The Female just started coming and stays for prolonged visits. They retreat to the woods but have been checking out a couple of hollows not that far in the tree line which surprised me. They have been dancing around the tree as well as tapping at the edges of the cavities they are looking at. These cavities have previously been home to the Red-Bellied Woodpeckers in recent years. Not sure if the RBWO’s agreed to “sell their property” or not. The male Red-Bellied sat on a tree nearby for a bit yesterday and gave the female Pileated an earful. I am thinking he is hoping noisy neighbors will give the Pileateds the idea to move on. If it does stay I may have to move my feeder cam over to cover that tree as well.
Another observation from this morning related to the Pileated. The male was at the location where 3 crows, 3 jays, and a bunch of titmice, chickadees, and others were mobbing something (which I could not locate from the angle I was looking). It did not appear to be part of the mob from a noise perspective but he was strutting with crest upright. I am assuming he just happened to be there at that moment. But I had never considered it before, do PIWO’s mob?
Cheers and happy Spriwing (that time of the year in Maine when it can’t decide whether to be winter or spring….)
Rob O’Connell
490 Greely Road Extension
Cumberland, ME 04021
H-207-221-3462
M-207-450-4092
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