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[barred_owl]

Oh, my goodness!  That would truly be a sight to see, marfa!  Swans are really beautiful in flight. 

[anthroid]

I haven't had many birds lately.  I think I ought to clean out the bird feeders--maybe things have gotten a bit wet...I do hear the neighborhood pileated woodpecker, though, and I may have spied the nest--if the nest is supposed to be a HUGE, high-hanging thing.  (No, it isn't an eagle's nest--too far from the water.)

[barred_owl]

I haven't had many birds lately.  I think I ought to clean out the bird feeders--maybe things have gotten a bit wet...I do hear the neighborhood pileated woodpecker, though, and I may have spied the nest--if the nest is supposed to be a HUGE, high-hanging thing.  (No, it isn't an eagle's nest--too far from the water.)

I'm jealous that you see and hear the PIWO's so frequently, anthroid!  They're cavity nesters, though.  Usually, they'll excavate a cavity in an old snag, or use a natural cavity in the same sort of structure.  They don't build nests, per se.  You might be able to locate the Pileated's nest cavity by looking for a large, chiseled gouge about the size of a football on the side of a tree trunk, but you'd have to search in deep woods. 

A huge, high-up nest that is made mostly of leaves is probably a gray squirrel nest; if it's made of sticks, it could be a crow's nest, or, if it's made of sticks and looks a little ramshackle, possibly a heron nest (although herons tend to aggregate their nests into rookeries).  There are some other possibilities, too, for a tree-supported nest--hawks come to mind.  Let us know if you figure out who the owner might be!

[anthroid]

I haven't had many birds lately.  I think I ought to clean out the bird feeders--maybe things have gotten a bit wet...I do hear the neighborhood pileated woodpecker, though, and I may have spied the nest--if the nest is supposed to be a HUGE, high-hanging thing.  (No, it isn't an eagle's nest--too far from the water.)

I'm jealous that you see and hear the PIWO's so frequently, anthroid!  They're cavity nesters, though.  Usually, they'll excavate a cavity in an old snag, or use a natural cavity in the same sort of structure.  They don't build nests, per se.  You might be able to locate the Pileated's nest cavity by looking for a large, chiseled gouge about the size of a football on the side of a tree trunk, but you'd have to search in deep woods. 

A huge, high-up nest that is made mostly of leaves is probably a gray squirrel nest; if it's made of sticks, it could be a crow's nest, or, if it's made of sticks and looks a little ramshackle, possibly a heron nest (although herons tend to aggregate their nests into rookeries).  There are some other possibilities, too, for a tree-supported nest--hawks come to mind.  Let us know if you figure out who the owner might be!

Thanks for that!  I'm guessing it's a squirrel nest.  I'm too far away from water for it to be a heron's nest.  It seems to be mainly leaves, and I'm lousy with squirrels (as Anthroidog can attest).  The actual tree is in the next yard over, but Anthroidog doesn't seem to care.  She really pays attention to what the squirrels are doing outside.

I'm going to have to spend some time trying to find the pileated woodpecker's nest.  I hear the "wild laugh" (I adore that description) all the time.  Query:  is it worth it trying to feed them?  Is there something that, in the dead of winter, would attract them to come and say hello to my yard?

[barred_owl]

I'm going to have to spend some time trying to find the pileated woodpecker's nest.  I hear the "wild laugh" (I adore that description) all the time.  Query:  is it worth it trying to feed them?  Is there something that, in the dead of winter, would attract them to come and say hello to my yard?

Suet!  Other woodpeckers adore suet, too, so you might get a good look at some of them up close.  You can either buy the pre-packaged squares that fit inside a wire mesh box, or check at your grocery store in the meat section to see if they sell raw suet chunks.  If you get the raw form, hang it up, wrapped tight in a mesh bag, like the kind that onions or oranges come in.  The woodpeckers will love you for it (and so will some of the small birds, too).  Oh--and don't worry about the suet rotting because the cold temperatures will prevent that. 

Good luck.  It would be really cool to see a PIWO up close!

[cgfunmathguy]

I'm going to have to spend some time trying to find the pileated woodpecker's nest.  I hear the "wild laugh" (I adore that description) all the time.  Query:  is it worth it trying to feed them?  Is there something that, in the dead of winter, would attract them to come and say hello to my yard?

Suet!  Other woodpeckers adore suet, too, so you might get a good look at some of them up close.  You can either buy the pre-packaged squares that fit inside a wire mesh box, or check at your grocery store in the meat section to see if they sell raw suet chunks.  If you get the raw form, hang it up, wrapped tight in a mesh bag, like the kind that onions or oranges come in.  The woodpeckers will love you for it (and so will some of the small birds, too).  Oh--and don't worry about the suet rotting because the cold temperatures will prevent that. 

Good luck.  It would be really cool to see a PIWO up close!

Exactly. And it is great fun to watch pileated woodpeckers eating suet. I once had two on opposite sides of the same bag. (I believe the appropriate response to this event is to dance around singing "Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!", but I'm not 100% sure about that.)

[pollinate]

I'm going to have to spend some time trying to find the pileated woodpecker's nest.  I hear the "wild laugh" (I adore that description) all the time.  Query:  is it worth it trying to feed them?  Is there something that, in the dead of winter, would attract them to come and say hello to my yard?

Suet!  Other woodpeckers adore suet, too, so you might get a good look at some of them up close.  You can either buy the pre-packaged squares that fit inside a wire mesh box, or check at your grocery store in the meat section to see if they sell raw suet chunks.  If you get the raw form, hang it up, wrapped tight in a mesh bag, like the kind that onions or oranges come in.  The woodpeckers will love you for it (and so will some of the small birds, too).  Oh--and don't worry about the suet rotting because the cold temperatures will prevent that. 

Good luck.  It would be really cool to see a PIWO up close!

Exactly. And it is great fun to watch pileated woodpeckers eating suet. I once had two on opposite sides of the same bag. (I believe the appropriate response to this event is to dance around singing "Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!", but I'm not 100% sure about that.)

If you're in an area with mostly non-freezing temperatures get 'suet dough'.  It doesn't melt, even at 90+ temps.  I keep it out year-round (except when the grackles stop by in fall and start going through a cake a day) and all sorts of birds like it.

[malcha]

A question for the ornithological among us:  why do crows follow hawks around and pester them?  Are they hoping the hawks will drop their prey and then the crows can eat it? 

[barred_owl]

Ooh...mobbing! (yes, that's the technical term)  Mobbing is fairly common, usually directed at larger predatory birds.  Occasionally, the mobbers are trying to kleptoparasitize the mobbed bird--trying to get it to drop its prey--but, more often, it's simply to get a potential predator to go away.  Crows and jays mob hawks, owls, and eagles frequently.  Some smaller birds, like chickadees, mob, too.  The mobbers will confront perched birds and birds in flight, and will continue to do so until the predator leaves the scene. 

I think I related the story upthread of the case where mobbing did not produce the desired effect for at least one Blue Jay.  A group of jays was mobbing a perched Red-tailed Hawk; at one point, the hawk extended a taloned foot and caught one of the jays.  That was the end of the mob attack, and the end of that particular Blue Jay, too.

Also, a birding tip:  Mobbing is a great way to see perched hawks or owls that are perched in vegetation or not moving around enough to catch the birder's eye.  Just look for those pesky mobbers, and you'll see the hawk or owl soon enough.

[thundering_m]

I've cross-referenced my list of locally occurring  plants with the information from a couple birdscaping books and articles, plus some xeriscaping pamphlets plus the list of noxious weeds to avoid/eradicate. I'm honing in on an inventory for the side yard where I hope to attrack a thriving population of entertaining critters. The posts are in and the fencing will probably go up soon, and then I hope to get in at least a couple large root ball items before a really hard freeze. A chokecherry perhaps. I am so new at recognizing anything more specific than LBJs  in the bird category that it's all a delightful discovery.

[pollinate]

A Thrush used my elevated birdbath around dusk yesterday.  I'm assuming Hermit Thrush, but it was too dark to be certain.  I don't usually have them for winter, so here's hoping it hangs around!

[buglet]

I'm going to have to spend some time trying to find the pileated woodpecker's nest.  I hear the "wild laugh" (I adore that description) all the time.  Query:  is it worth it trying to feed them?  Is there something that, in the dead of winter, would attract them to come and say hello to my yard?

Suet!  Other woodpeckers adore suet, too, so you might get a good look at some of them up close.  You can either buy the pre-packaged squares that fit inside a wire mesh box, or check at your grocery store in the meat section to see if they sell raw suet chunks.  If you get the raw form, hang it up, wrapped tight in a mesh bag, like the kind that onions or oranges come in.  The woodpeckers will love you for it (and so will some of the small birds, too).  Oh--and don't worry about the suet rotting because the cold temperatures will prevent that. 

Good luck.  It would be really cool to see a PIWO up close!

I can affirm that observation about their feeding preferences.  We have a Great Spotted Woodpecker (U.K) that feeds enthusiastically on the suet.  The other littler birds (sparrows, mostly) wait in a line on the clothesline until he has done, as they are all quite afraid of his sharp beak.  Then again, the woodpecker is super shy, so if I approach the window to look at him, he'll fly off.

[anthroid]

Suet it is!  Any recommendation about how high to hang it?

[pollinate]

Suet it is!  Any recommendation about how high to hang it?

Mine is on the same pole as the other feeders, perhaps 4ft. up.

[barred_owl]

Suet it is!  Any recommendation about how high to hang it?

Mine is on the same pole as the other feeders, perhaps 4ft. up.

The best height I can think of is one at which you can get a good look while the woodpeckers are feeding at it!  But, yes, about 4 feet or so is good.  You have to let us know if you get the PIWO's to come in, anthroid!