Flash of red

A very distant and heavily cropped photo of this Pileated Woodpecker, seen in Griffith Woods on 10 February 2014. Always a thrill to see one of these large Woodpeckers, but I always seem to miss the sightings that are very close! One of these days ..... : ) Posted mainly so that I can add it to my Griffith Woods set.

"The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest. Look (and listen) for Pileated Woodpeckers whacking at dead trees and fallen logs in search of their main prey, carpenter ants, leaving unique rectangular holes in the wood. The nest holes these birds make offer crucial shelter to many species including swifts, owls, ducks, bats, and pine martens." From AllAboutBirds.org.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileated_Woodpecker