It was quite a surprise to see the Pileated Woodpecker so close to the ground as it pounded at a fresh excavation in a rotting tree trunk.

“Let’s go for a walk in the woods Blake” I suggested, and the 5-year-old took off running across the room for his shoes and coat as he replied “OK!” It was the end of a family birthday party with all my family in attendance and in-laws too, all assembled in a beautiful cabin where the woods met a tranquil central Minnesota lake. I let my niece know we were going for a walk in the woods and she signaled she was all for it, and a moment later Blake and I were headed for the lakeshore where 2 young Trumpeter Swans had recently provided nice looks for everyone just a few feet from the water’s edge.

As we made our way up an adjacent hillside covered with a blanket of fallen oak leaves, Blake remarked, “You really are walking through the woods.” I didn’t realize it, but Blake later told me he never walked into the woods before, so it was a new adventure for the little guy as he asked about brackets on a tree trunk and I pointed out old woodpecker cavities on a fallen tree. Blake promptly climbed onto the log and began a balancing act as he walked along the length of it with glee.

Suddenly, a loud cry broke the still quite of the woodland and echoed across the lake. We looked back toward its source and I remarked to Blake that it was the call of the biggest woodpecker in all of Minnesota – actually, the biggest in all of the United States and Canada! We watched for it to fly into view without luck, so continued on our way. I pointed out a series of 3 oblong cavities excavated in a standing snag to show Blake how to identify the excavation work of a Pileated Woodpecker.

By then Blake was leading the way on our woods hike, but suddenly he pointed and exclaimed “There it is, flying!” I didn’t see it, so searched the trees that Blake was pointing toward. He added, “It flew there [pointing right]; it flew down to the ground.” That didn’t seem to make sense and I almost gave up after checking the area visually, but all of a sudden there it was! It was indeed adjacent to the ground, standing on an old fallen tree, bent over an obviously fresh excavation in the decaying trunk.

“There it is Blake! See it there? You did a great job finding it.” Blake was momentarily excited, and began speaking in his somewhat loud voice, so I asked him to whisper and to limit his movements, which is a hard ask for a 5-year-old. “Do you see its red crest?” That’s when it began ‘pecking’ at the top of the fallen tree trunk, which caught Blake’s attention again. When he was ready to resume walking, I hated to leave such an exciting bird in the midst of behavior I have rarely had a chance to witness. It was Blake’s first Pileated Woodpecker and the first I’ve had a chance to watch in a long time; and I’ve never seen this species so ‘grounded.’

A few moments later the woodpecker repositioned to an adjacent standing tree trunk, showing another view that emphasized its size and wingspan. With jerky woodpecker motions it climbed a little higher up the tree, and then it was gone, on the wing, absorbed into the depth of the woods. Woo-wee, what an exciting observation that was, and I conveyed to Blake how rare and special that Pileated Woodpecker was and how lucky we were to see it.

We continued our walk through the woods, and enjoyed inspecting moss, lichens, more brackets, puffball fungi, and the different kinds of trees – oak, birch, maple, aspen, ash, and we found some of their varied leaves. But the biggest woodpecker of the north woods was our only bird; kind of unusual that the Pileated provided the only bird sighting and sounds, but if I was to wish for a single bird that afternoon, a Pileated Woodpecker would be at the top of the list, and it was great that Blake made the initial sighting too.

Blake is a very smart, enthusiastic boy who has been introduced to identifying insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals through a variety of field guides provided primarily by his grandfather, but also by his father, aunt, grandmother, and uncle (me), so he will have the benefit of many more walks in the woods to explore nature. Sharing the outdoors and little nature adventures are a great way to share your interests and provide an introduction for children to the natural world that surrounds them. And Blake’s younger brothers, sister, and cousin will be immersed in the Northwoods growing up too. It will be interesting to see when each of them will get to see their first Pileated Woodpecker.

Article by Paul Konrad