Doctor's Orders - Part II - The Elusive Pileated Woodpecker

One morning while following Doctor's orders to do as little as possible, I was sitting out back, wrapped in a blanket, a cup of steaming tea beside me, and watched the rising sun saturating the trees on the mountain with deep golden color.  Suddenly, a quick flapping of large white--then black--wings drew my attention to my left.  Engaged in an early-morning phone call and with the unexpectancy of a sudden emergence of a bird flying into view, my camera had been idle on my lap.  My first instinct, always, is to grab my camera and snap a picture.  Under the circumstances of surprise and unreadiness, some of the images will of course be out-of-focus, but to me, capturing 'something' is better than nothing, and sometimes I want others to see what I see, regardless of imperfection.  And, of course, I'm always hoping for a second shot.  One of the most fascinating aspects of nature is that sometimes you're treated to just fleeting moments of awe.

These two images show the woodpecker as I first saw it--the flapping of wings revealing both black and white sides of it's feathers and the flash of it's red crest, confirming the species.

Noticing that rather than perching on a branch, it skimmed upright along the trunk, I knew immediately it had to be a woodpecker.  Sure enough, I quickly gathered the bird into my lens as it hopped around the tree until it found a spot to begin it's drilling.  It flew to several different trees, but was not satisfied in whatever it sought, thus flew away.

The next morning, besides having my camera at hand, I brought a notebook and pen outside with me to write my observations.  I was hoping the woodpecker would return.  Today I transcribe my notes from that morning:

I'm set up in the backyard: tripod erected on the hill--steady and even, camera lens pointing upward to my right, but I look straight ahead toward the sky over our rooftop.  Sunlight brightened the clouds and a hint of blue highlighted the otherwise dark sky.  I saw a female Pileated Woodpecker in our trees yesterday around this time; she, being distinguished by the non-existant red 'moustache' characteristic of her counterpart.  Perhaps it favors these trees at sunrise most mornings--I'm usually at work at this time of day--but it's what I'm hoping for today, anyway.  My ear is keen to the sounds around me--nuts and small twigs cascading through limbs and leaves on their descent downward as if I needed a reminder of which season it is, and a
few intermittent bird calls can be heard emerging onto the scene, although most birds seem to be sleeping in today.  The few I hear as the sky continues to brighten, both pique my curiosity and hone my birding skills.  Suddenly I do hear a few taps--hammered beats--the sound I'd been hoping to hear!  It's much deeper into the woods to my left.  I keep my lens pointing in the other direction, but my eyes scan distant dead trees for any movement or a flash of the red crest of it's head or a sudden flutter of bright white--the underside of the woodpecker's wings visible only when in flight.  Usually found upright against a trunk, it's dark body, well over a foot long, darts and spirals lengthwise along the tree.  But no movements can be seen.  The elusive woodpecker teases, continues to call my attention with it's tapping, which I follow with my eyes.... 

But alas....  no movement that I can see ever follows. 




Once back inside the house I searched my archives for a photo I knew I had taken last year of a male Pileated Woodpecker.  I wanted to compare...  examine the moustache....  fulfill my desire, temporarily, to see one again....  Here's that image below:

...just another way to pass my idle time...............

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