The Good God Woodpecker

by David Manning

Let’s assume you are strolling through a forest on one of the many Pender forest trails. Choose any trail and it’s likely you’ll see a Cedar tree that looks something like this:

Most of you will know what made this unique rectangular excavation: a Pileated Woodpecker. It was looking for ants and other insects, not creating a nest cavity. Nest and roost cavities are oval in shape, a little wider at bottom than the top, like this:

The Pileated Woodpecker (nicknamed the Good God Woodpecker) is the second-largest woodpecker in North America (assuming the larger Ivory-billed Woodpecker is not extinct - recent exciting evidence has shown it still persists in the southern US).

My first encounter with the magnificent "Pileated" occurred more than 60 years ago in the American Midwest as a university student on my first backpack trip. As I sat in a small cave on a near-vertical bank overlooking Lusk Creek, it flew right to left directly in front of me, revealing those white wing patches, appearing to my startled eyes like individual slow-motion frames of a movie. I was dazed, a display I can only describe as transcendental.

For the past 20 years I’ve been enjoying this woodpecker on Pender Island, where I’ve frequently seen and heard it. It is resident across the forest areas of BC, although apparently absent from Haida Gwaii. It does not seem to fear people much and will often allow us to get near to it. I’ve often observed it at close range as one works away at some snag or log, seemingly oblivious to my presence. At other times it certainly notices me and plays peekaboo from behind a tree trunk. Like other woodpeckers, their tails have stiff feathers that they press against tree trunks to help keep them upright. They have 4 toes, 2 pointing forward and 2 back, each having sharp curved claws for holding on.

The male and female form year-round pair bonds in a large territory of many hectares. Each April, while many of us are checking our radio, TV or smartphone for the latest political arguments, Pileated pairs are busy excavating their new nest cavities in dead or dying trees in an effort to carry on their kind, a project that interests me more than human news. They leave a small pile of wood chips at the bottom of the cavity onto which they lay 3-5 white eggs. I once saw a nest being constructed in a dead branch of a living Arbutus tree, but most nests I’ve discovered have been in Red Alder snags near a water source. They will even nest close to your house if a suitable tree is available. They have been known to re-use the same nest in successive years, although I’ve never witnessed such.

Both sexes take turns incubating the eggs for about 18 days; the male, with that scarlet “mustache,” incubating at night and part of the day. I read about a female moving eggs to a new site after the original nest tree collapsed! Each adult has its own separate overnight roost cavity. I’ve observed many Pileateds chiseling out a cavity that to my knowledge was never used for nesting or roosting. Perhaps they were just practicing.

Teamwork: Female pileated woodpecker relieves male partner during incubation.

When the chicks hatch, both parents take turns brooding them for up to 10 days, and both feed them throughout the nestling period, by inserting their bills into the throats of the young, regurgitating the food. I’ve often watched in delight as the parents bring food to their young. When old enough the chicks poke their heads out of the cavity opening, talking away until a morsel is deposited into their bills. I keep my distance from nests when observing, being as unobtrusive as possible.

Male pileated woodpecker delivers food to young in nest on Pender Island.

About 4 weeks after hatching, the young leave the nest but may remain with the parents for 2-3 months, learning the ways of a woodpecker. I’ve observed the parents teaching their youngsters how to forage on stumps and logs. Abandoned Pileated nests can later be used by other species such as Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers.

Although their diet consists mostly of ants and other insects, fruits are a dietary item as well, and my wife and I were delighted to see one standing on our porch railing, comically plucking grapes from a vine. Their tongues have bristles on them and can extend 3 times their bill length to get at food sources as they hack away on dead wood. I’ve seen them tear apart many logs! They have tufts of feathers near their nostrils to keep wood dust out.

Pileated woodpecker feeding on grapes.

They use drumming and voice in proclaiming territories. I’ve frequently heard both partners drumming and talking back and forth, keeping tabs on one another. This spring I heard one calling near last year’s nest, but it sounded like it had laryngitis! Perhaps it’s been talking too much. I’m anxious to learn if it will nest in that area again and if it continues with that unusual voice.

There is much to experience in our forests, but this Woody is one of the most vocal and visually noticeable of all our wildlife inhabitants. We are so fortunate to have this outstanding woodpecker in our midst. Do whatever you can to welcome wildlife onto your property. For example, if you need to remove a dead tree in your yard for safety reasons, be sure to leave at least 15-20 meters standing for woodpeckers and other wildlife.

Meanwhile, enjoy our Pileated Woodpeckers, and stop to give it careful attention whenever you see one.