Anybody Seen One Lately?

[DARK30]

A red headed woodpecker? I remember as a kid seeing lots of them.

[finnbay]

I saw my first one ever just west of Pipestone on July 5th. Unfortunately, it took off before I could get a bead on it with my camera!

[reinhard1]

are you guy's talking about pileated [poor spelling probably]? they are large red headed woodpeckers. dont know much about them but we have two of them at our bird feeders from time to time. good luck.

[NoWiser]

I haven't seen one in years in Minnesota, but I see quite a few down in SW Wisconsin every spring morel hunting. Not sure if its true, but I heard the pesticides took a toll on them up here. Wish there were more, they are a pretty cool bird.

[grey ghost]

Had one in my yard for a few days this spring and see one occasionally through the summer in the area. But their numbers seem to be down.

[Dotch]

Actually in our vicinity they seem to be making a come back. We had some that came to the feeders some 20 odd years ago then didn't see one for about 10 years. The past 4 - 5 years have been seeing them in our off site pasture and hearing them when not seeing them. There were some in our yard this spring visiting the feeders again. It's not like it was when I was a kid after all the elm trees croaked in the river bottoms but at least we're starting to see them again.

[MN Shutterbug]

I saw my first one in decades,a few weeks ago by Camden State Park, 10 miles from Marshall. He was kind enough to pose. It was actually quite thrilling.

Ken, I didn't know you ever traveled to my part of the state. Pipestone is just 45 minutes from Marshall.

[Jim Almquist]

I spotted my first one ever last year just SE of Aitken. It got a away before I could get a decent shot with the camera.

[DARK30]

Yup...just like I remember. Nice photo!

[daylate]

I saw a very large pileated woodpecker by clamshell lake(whitefish chain) on the 4th of july weekend. It had been a long time since I had seen one.

[Yellowhead]

I used to see a lot of them growing up in Iowa. THey seem to be declining no one seem to know the reason. Competition with starling for nesting sites has been suggested. I have a friend who lives in Wisconsin, he was involved in study of redheads being run by the Cornell ornithalog dept.

[Canon Guy]

While up at Ottertail last month there wasa pair hanging out.

[finnbay]

Great find! Really like that last shot!

[PurpleFloyd]

I used to see them on my uncles farm all of the time as a kid growing up but they are getting very hard to find anymore. There used to be a pair of pileated Woodpeckers nesting in the woods behind a farm we rented near Courtland some years back. They make a great deal of noise and are pretty impressive birds.

I think the reason the redheads are not as abundant in this area is due to all of the groves and farm sites that have been bulldozed and turned into farmland and that what is left is better maintained so less old hollow trees are there for them to nest in.I also wonder if all of the spraying that they do these days for aphids and other insects has led to some of the decline as the pesticides work through the food chain.

[Dotch]

Great pics! Saw one between Waldorf and Bugtussle just last week as I drove through the area. It was in fact near a little used farmsite full of dead trees. I continue to see and/or hear them almost daily in the neighbors pasture we rent. I suspect their population is cyclical and the decline likely has a lot to do with fewer dead and decaying elms such as we had during the '70's and '80's. Was the population perhaps abnormally high during that period due to that? That's what they pay someone to do studies for. I also suspect if the emerald ash borer lives up to its billing, we'll see woodpeckers all over the place especially once the trees in the woods start to decay and are loaded with boring and tunneling insects. Right now we're seeing plenty of dead/dying poplars in peoples windbreaks including some in my own. Based on my observations here and my Mom's at Spring Valley, I can't see any correlation between soybean aphid spraying and red-headed woodpecker sightings. In fact we've seen more in the past 10 years, roughly the same timeframe as soybean aphid control has been practiced.

[eyeguy 54]

We always have a red bellied around but very rare a red headed.

[DonBo]

Only one I ever saw was is SW Wisconsin while turkey hunting. What a striking bird! Beautiful.

Several folks around our cabin in NW Wisconsin have reported seeing them this summer, including one on my feeder as I was out fishing. Alas, I did not get to see him.

[Gillie]

Beautiful shots! It's been awhile since I've seen one, maybe 10 years ago here in town.