Pileated Woodpeckers Prove To Be Adaptable To Changing Conditions

Another Washington State bird, the Pileated Woodpecker is a large bird (up to 19"), and prefers mature trees in heavily forested areas. As first growth forests dwindle, these birds have adapted themselves to life in second growth forests, as well as heavily wooded parks. They make nests in hollows of dead trees, and will dig further in, tunneling and excavating to create the nest space, sometimes taking as long as six weeks to finish building. They tend to make new nests each year, leaving the old nest as a home for other cavity-dwelling animals.

 Insects are their primary food, along with fruits, berries and nuts, easily found on San Juan Island. They will search for insects by ripping or digging into the bark of trees, methodically moving across the tree trunk and leaving behind a unique pattern of pock marks in straight columns and rows. When digging into the bark, they can also create 3 - 6" holes in trees, a telltale sign that they are in residence. The Pileated taps at tree bark with its beak, looking for insects.

It can then drag out the bugs with its sticky tongue. The loud hammering sound made by this bird is often thought to be the sound made when their beak hits the tree in their search for food. Actually, though, the sound is their call both to attract mates and to establish territorial boundaries.

Pileated woodpeckers are the largest of the common woodpeckers found in most of North America. These crow-sized birds present a memorable sight with their zebra-striped heads and necks, long bills, and distinctive red crests.

Pileated woodpeckers forage for their favorite meal, carpenter ants, by digging large, rectangular holes in trees. These holes can be so large that they weaken smaller trees or even cause them to break in half. Other birds are often attracted to these large openings, eager to access any exposed insects.

Pileated woodpeckers do not discriminate between coniferous and deciduous trees—as long as they yield the ants and beetle larvae that make up much of the birds' diet. Woodpeckers sometimes access these morsels by peeling long strips of bark from the tree, but they also forage on the ground and supplement their diet with fruits and nuts.

The enthusiastic drumming that creates such holes sounds like a loud hammering, and is audible for a great distance. Woodpeckers also drum to attract mates and to announce the boundaries of their territories. Pairs establish territories and live on them all year long.

The birds typically choose large, older trees for nesting and usually inhabit a tree hole. In eastern North America, pileated woodpeckers declined as their forest habitats were systematically logged in the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent decades, many forests have regenerated, and woodpecker species have enjoyed corresponding growth. The birds have proven to be adaptable to changing forest conditions.