Woodpecker Thought to Be Extinct Is Sighted in Arkansas
Friday, April 29th, 2005
Woodpecker Thought to Be Extinct Is Sighted in Arkansas: “The ivory-billed woodpecker has been sighted in the swamp forests of eastern Arkansas for the first time in 60 years.”
(Via NYT > Home Page.)
this is exciting news - a grand, beautiful bird. this also gives a glimmer of hope that there are other beasts presumed extinct alive in the wild. the birding listservs here were busy today w/the news.
I agree, this is huge for numerous reasons. We have a few pilliated woodpeckers around here but they’re so shy I can never photograph them. We hear them often though. Big birds as well although not as big as the spoonbill which is as big as a hawk or eagle.
This past Sunday, May15th, my husband, son and I saw a pilliated woodpecker on our yard in WonderHills, Athens, Ohio!
We were all excited!! My son was able to get a quick blurb of the woodpecker on his video camera. I have seen them here on our yard before…but that was several years ago. I saw a pair then. What an empressive bird and what joy to see one again. Just had to tell someone!
Wow Edith, this is fantastic. We’ve seen one only one time here although we can hear them quite often in the deep woods behind our place.
Someday I’d like to have a telephoto lens long enough to penetrate those woods from the comfort of our deck but until then we’ll have to just enjoy the sound and conjur up what he or she must look like.
If your video turned out well and you know how to digitize it into a small QuickTime movie it would be fun to see online or sent through email.
Never heard of this bird. My friend in Port Huron, MI. spoke of one. I’VE SEEN ONE IN MY FRONT YARD!.- FORT WAYNE, IN.
Wow Mike, get a camera set up and keep an eye peeled. By the way, my wife’s a hoosier (are you a hoosier forever even if you don’t live there anymore?) from Evansville.
I have seen a pilliated woodpercker this morning outside my house, and took several pictures. I was able to get within 8 feet of him while he was pecking away at an old treestump looking for grubs. You can normally get very close to woodpeckers. This woodpecker has been around here for a few years, but this was the first time he came close to my house, since the stumps have started to decompose, and found them to be a good food source. Mahopac, NY.
Bill, I’d love to see those pictures. I don’t know about New York woodpeckers but the ones up here are quite shy and we can’t get close at all. The pilliated woodpeckers are reputed to be among the shiest.
Maybe a New York woodpecker is now a sub-speciest: tougher and more oblivious to people .
The Pilliated Woodpecker has been sighted on Lookout Mtn in the Fort Payne area here in DeKalb County Alabama as recently as 3 years ago. I lived up there and had a nesting pair in my woods approx 22 years ago. Just thought I’d add my two cents’ worth to this saga.
Charlotte: did you see, I photographed one here the other day: Piliated woodpecker.
I recently vacationed in Wisconsin and I got pictures of a woodpecker and was told it was a piliated woodpecker. I actually saw 2 one day. However I onlly got pictures of the one. If you are interested in seeing them I can email them to you. Maybe you can substantiate whether it is a piliated or not?
Don: Sure, please do. richard at richardsnotes dot org.
Don, where in Wisconsin? We have a place on Lake Nokomis in Tomahawk Wisconsin and this weekend my brother was there visiting. We saw 2 woodpeckers and he said oh my, those are Pilliated woodpeckers, very rare. I never knew that because we see then quite frequently. I was just wondering what part of Wisconsin you were in. Those birds were huge! and oh so beautiful. Just thought I’d share.
Debbie: thanks for sharing, I’m totally jealous. They are amazing birds; like pterodactyls.
Saw a pilliated male in the woods just off the road three times recently in Norton Shores, MI. Have not seen a female in the area for 20 years.
Rog: That male must be pretty lonely. ;)
My son is doing a school project on Pilliated woodpeckers. He was told they were becoming extinct. Is this true?
Nancy, I’ve not heard of that. It’s the rarer and larger spoonbills that were thought to be extinct until someone saw one in the last few years, in Florida I think. Piliated woodpeckers are a rare bird and they’re very shy but I’m not sure they’re on their way out. Maybe try wikipedia…
We have lived in this house for 9 years and one day I was washing dishes and looked out the window, where I saw a piliated woodpecker.
It was a sight to behold. I told my Hubby but he thought that I was NUTZ. Well, the other day he came in from outside and he reported to
me that he had seen one that morning when he went out to mow the
grass. So, now, who getrs the last laugh. The woodpecker doesn’t come
every day but it such a joy to see him when he does come. What a
B-U-TI-MUS bird. I hope there a large number of them.
Reba Sink
1636 Tom Turner Road
Billingsley, AL. 36006
Reba, wow, you are extremely lucky. We hear them but don’t get to see them but one every few years. Now, when you see an ivorybill woodpecker, let us know.
there is a large dead tree in my yard. i noticed some serious fresh damage up about 20 feet high. yesterday i saw a huge woodpecker attacking the area with wood chips flying. about as big as a crow. was this a pilliated woodpecker.
used to see quite a few in the woods near here (sw missouri)
Joe, it sure sounds like one. Here’s a picture I took of the one attacking a tree here last year.
Does your bird look like this?
richard i cant open ur picture. i will keep an eye out for this bird. it has obviously been here before the damage to the tree is extensive.
i have a telephoto lens on my camera ill try to get a pic
joe
by the way im only 15 miles from arkansas. maybe its an ivory billed woodpecker
joe
Joe: just click on the link in my picture, it takes you to a page at this site. There should be no problem opening it.
What can one do about damage to a deck from the “work” of the pileated woodpecker? Is there a product one can apply to keep the bird away?
Jane,
Good question. And, I’m amazed that this ultra shy bird would peck at a deck. Maybe the use of a camera to photograph them will keep them away.
What they’re after is insects so maybe if you have ants you might consider trying to get rid of them.
We have smaller woodpeckers destroying the clapboards on our garage. I put up a whirlygig like a scarecrow and it helped. I hung some suet on a nearby tree and that did it. However, the damage is done, at some point we’ll need to re-side that wall. ugh.
My wife and I saw a pilliated woodpecker on our deck railing this morning. We see them every year or two at our home south of Seattle about 40 miles. I took several pictures of him as he hopped along the railing looking for bugs. He took a 2 inch x 1/2 deep chunk out of the railing before flying off.
Clyde: Wow, fantastic. If you post pictures online somewhere please post a link here. Here’s my lone effort: Pilliated Woodpecker.