What’s New: Latest News: Woody Woodpecker – Alive and Well in Oldfield
Aaahhhh…a beautiful spring morning in the Lowcountry. A cool breeze is blowing, the faint warbling call of the eastern bluebird echoes through the woods, and …BBBBBRRRRRRTTTTTTT!! How many times have you been awakened by the sound of a woodpecker hammering on a gutter, siding, shutter, or pole in the early morning? Chances are, it is the drumming of the pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), our largest woodpecker. With its maniacal call, flaming red crest, and comical antics, it is the perfect inspiration for the beloved Wood Woodpecker cartoon! The pileated woodpecker uses its chisel-like beak to chip away at dead wood in search of insect larvae and other invertebrates that it can hear burrowing and chewing into the wood. Using stiff tail feathers and zygodactyl feet (fancy word for two toes forward, two toes back) to prop it up on the tree to get leverage to peck, it chisels out large, rectangular holes in dead and dying trees. The drumming noise that you hear is a territorial sound that is designed to protect territories and attract females. The bird finds the most resonant material around and lets it rip, because the louder the noise, the more attractive it is to the opposite sex! Even though it’s early give him a break. It’s spring and love is in the air…
