That's fantastic!!! I just read the other day somewhere that there is a movement in central Florida that has been trying to re-introduce/attrack Blue Birds throughout Florida. Apparently, many of them have been chased away due o over-development, habitat loss and also finches and house sparrow taking over their living quarters.

I'm excited because this morning I got to watch my Hummer feasting on Ruellia and Cape Honeysuckle -- even in the rain. Then, the Blue Jays sounded an alarm about something and all the birds scattered -- including my Hummer. Oh well...great show while it lasted.

Karalynn, great photo of the pileateds! Aren't they terrific birds? Yes, their call is something else! They are the bird that Woody Woodpecker is based on, from the crest right down to that call. We have them in our neighborhood, and I often see them in my trees, or across the street.

Thanks for sharing the photos, and congrats on having the bluebirds, too.

Marcia

Pileateds! I love them, don't have any here though, we had them at our townhouse. They are noisy, but so fun to watch.

This morning in the drizzling rain, my cardinal couple were feasting and tweeting at the feeder. Lord Vadar Mocker was busy burrying himself within the subarosa passie munching on the purple fruit. I am so happy to see the dragonflies are back with all the rain. Neon rainbow glolors flitting about make me smile.

Me Too, Me Too, I have dragonflies again. ;o) I love those wood peckers, are they the Fl native ones? I have a pair of the little red headed ones at my feeder, but have seen the big Fl native around.

Awesome close up!I especially love to try to photograph two at once.Not an easy task!\
Saintpfla That disappearing act after alot of Screaming and sqwaking happens at my place when the hawk visits.

whoa, Kara...those are some cool birds!!!! I'd LOVE to have them here!! LOL...but I'd love to have EVERY bird here! oh...to get to even see bluebirds!!! It's been YEARS (I think back in Vermont was the last time) since I've seen them....... I've got tons of lil sparrows this summer...that's new for me...the usual lil woodpecker, lotta bluejays...doves, blackies, a few cardinal...once in awhile a flycatcher...there is a red shouldered hawk around...that's good for summertime. I usually have more in winter. Sure hope you get pictures of the bluebirds too....

I need to get a couple of Sweet Bay Magnolias added to my landscape. The pileated peckers loved them.

Katkin, all the woodpeckers seen in Florida are "Florida natives," meaning that at some point in their life cycle, they live here. Pileateds are here year round. Red-bellied woodpeckers, too. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are here in the winter only, and so forth. We have I think seven different woodpeckers that call the state home at one season or another. I'll have to do a woodpecker post, so you know which ones you are seeing.

Pileateds live throughout the state and much of the eastern US all year long. You do have them in your area, and who knows...you might see them in your yard someday. They are partial to big trees, though...large oaks, especially.

Marcia

I love pileated woodpeckers!
Used to be around here a lot more before the big hurricanes took out so many pines.
But I still had one come by this summer, since I still have a couple of old pines.
I consider them "Great Old Birds".
What a beautiful shot you took!

The pair pretty much posed for that picture! They sat on that pole for nearly fifteen minutes. I love my new camera, there is no way I would have gotten that shot with my old one.

This is the first year I've seen bluebirds in my yard. The first time I saw one I got so excited, then the next day I saw at least six of them chasing each other around the neighbors yard. Just a couple days ago a small flock of them were in my front lawn looking for bugs and taking showers in the rain. It was so neat, not to mention cute! Mom and I are planning to make some bluebird houses and hang them around our properties.

Just last night I heard some kind of owl in the woods behind my house. Not sure what type of owl it was but it was pretty loud.

Karalynn, believe it or not, both of these pileateds appear to be females. It's a bit hard to tell in the picture, but adult males have a red crest that comes all the way forward to their beaks, where the female's red stops in the center of the head, leaving a black area from just behind the eye forward to the beak. Now I can't see that for SURE in this photo, but I can see one other field mark...the stripe that runs from the corner of the mouth back to the neck is black in the females and red for a portion of the way in the males. Both of these birds appear to have black cheek stripes, so I believe they are females.

They could be young female nestmates who haven't branched out into their own territory yet. I have often seen whole families of pileateds foraging together. Next time you see them, see if you can tell whether the red on the crest of either one extends all the way forward to the beak.

You are so lucky to be enjoying the bluebirds up close and personal (you and Maureen!!). I have seen them many times in Florida, but always in rural areas with pastures or large meadows nearby. They are year round residents in Florida which need to be encouraged as much as possible. Invasive exotic birds like house sparrows and starlings throw them OUT of their nests and take over. They took a really bad hit from them for many years and were on the decline drastically. Loss of open habitat has hurt them too, but they WILL nest in urban areas when they find suitable food sources. (They use nestboxes, for those who don't know, and putting them out, plus planting lots of fruiting trees and shrubs can draw them in.)

Marcia