Earlier this week, I was happy when I took my first acceptable images of a male Pileated Woodpecker in a tree at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.
Male Pileated Woodpecker in a tree at Sequoyah NWR – Canon R7, handheld, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 1600, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 360mm, natural light
This Pileated Woodpecker photo isn’t quite my dream image of the species, but it’s the first nearly clear photo I’ve taken of one in over 15 years.
I never saw or heard Pileated Woodpeckers in Utah, so the last time I had one in my viewfinder was in April 2009.
If Ivory-billed Woodpeckers truly are extinct, Pileated Woodpeckers take the title of North America’s largest woodpecker. Even though they are large and sometimes very noisy, they can disappear from sight easily in forests.
Earlier this year, I had one of these large woodpeckers in my viewfinder for a few seconds, but because of the messy setting, my camera couldn’t lock onto the bird.
This male Pileated Woodpecker gave me several different poses on this tree before he moved on to another, more cluttered setting.
I keep hoping that I’ll get my dream photos of this species soon. I’m not even sure what they look like in my mind. Maybe a few images of them showing how they looked in my garden in Virginia would do? I’d be delighted with those.
By the way, today marks 3,500 consecutive posts in a row for me, nonstop, without skipping a day. That is almost 10 years without missing a day! That is a lot of words, photos, and thoughts!
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my woodpecker photos in their galleries.
EC said it best. 3,500 posts without a break. Ten years of incredible dedication to your art, and to enlightenment, not to mention your amazing eye for detail and composition. This Piliated Woodpecker pic is a perfect example of the quality of your shots. [Isn’t that red top-knot spectacular?] Thanks Mia and keep on truckin’…you have a captive audience.
Great bird to mark your 3,500th blog!
Thank you for sharing your love of birds through such fabulous photography.
Your love shines through in every photo and every meaningful comment.
Envision my thanks as 3,500 birds [you can name the species], taking off.
Maybe snow geese….
My favorite woodpecker memory is at John CestnutbPark we here I captured my first woodpecker photos with you!
Congratulations!!! I have learned so much from you over the years. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos. I personally have seen 3 different Pilated Woodpeckers in my life. Little suckers are always flying 🤣🤣🤣
Very cool! I have never seen one!
Wow, that’s a milestone for sure.
All I can say is that I am very happy to have found your blog and through it I’ve learned a lot over the years I’ve been following you.
Thank you very much and my best wishes for the future.
Wow Mia – impressive! Both for nailing this elusive and elegant Piliated Wiodpecker – and – for 3500 posts that educate, intrigue and entertain. I’ve always appreciated your commitment to photographic accuracy and integrity in in protecting the birds you shoot – and the amazing information you share about your camera and location settings and the details you share about each bird (and occasional mammals, reptiles and insects too)! As a fellow nature and wildlife photographer, I truly appreciate you sharing your skill, passion and knowledge over these first 3500 fascinating posts! Long May you blog!
Big and beautiful. And huge thanks for your commitment to your blog. Your posts educate and delight me.