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This is on my property. I love woodpeckers and don't want to remove tree...(yes, I know it can fall at any time). It's very pretty...bark gone, so a tan color.
Some holes are small, some are very large ie for pileated woodpecker... I see many here.
Do woodpeckers continue using the holes after one season? Anyone have ideas?? I have not seen any using the tree in the 3 yrs. I have lived here...so maybe not.
This is on my property. I love woodpeckers and don't want to remove tree...(yes, I know it can fall at any time). It's very pretty...bark gone, so a tan color.
Some holes are small, some are very large ie for pileated woodpecker... I see many here.
Do woodpeckers continue using the holes after one season? Anyone have ideas?? I have not seen any using the tree in the 3 yrs. I have lived here...so maybe not.
The woodpeckers may move on, but other birds and small mammals often use them once they are gone. Either way, the tree is providing important "habitat" for lots of creatures. As the tree decays it harbors insects that many other birds feed on even if they don't use the nest cavities.
A lot of birds are secondary cavity nesters, which means that they don't excavate their own cavities but will occupy the abandoned cavities of woodpeckers. Examples of these are titmice, chickadees, kestrels, a few species of owls, wood ducks, swallows, etc. Coincidentally, many of these species are or were recently in decline because of the loss of the standing dead trees, as forest management and lumbering practices saw them removed. This is the reason why nest boxes have become important for a few of these birds. Definitely leave it standing!
We've seen a pair of pileated woodpeckers use the same nesting hole two years in a row in the back woods, so I think they do reuse nest sites.
Earlier in the spring, we saw one of the pileateds taking a dust bath. It was fun to watch. He/she kept at it for a good 10 minutes. Came back a couple days in a row, but have not seen it since.
We've seen a pair of pileated woodpeckers use the same nesting hole two years in a row in the back woods, so I think they do reuse nest sites.
Earlier in the spring, we saw one of the pileateds taking a dust bath. It was fun to watch. He/she kept at it for a good 10 minutes. Came back a couple days in a row, but have not seen it since.
This is in southern CT.
Just to clarify, we have seen the pileateds, just not taking a dust bath. There are maybe two pairs of pileateds in our area, which has about 80 acres of woods and prior farm land with no houses. They are pretty reclusive, but we often hear their distinctive call. And when they peck wood for insects, the pecking noise is slower than other woodpeckers in our area, so we can tell it is a pileated.
We get a kick every time we see or hear them, maybe bc they are so big and reclusive.
Anybody remember the story a few years ago about someone who filmed an ivory billed woodpecker in the wild, I think it was in Alabama. The ivory billed was thought to be extinct. It was pretty cool.
Last edited by LilyMae521; 09-30-2017 at 06:36 PM..
These woodpeckers are among my favorite birds to see and watch and hear...and love how
they are very prehistoric looking, like a pterodactyl.
Never have seen really young ones, just juveniles.
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