well, Zyperiris, heheh I think I was definitely "wearing my brains" on backwards; I can't believe I missed out on that important descriptor-- prehistoric and wild and rough! I never thought of a bird being wild and rough except for a parrot that doesn't get enough attention from its owner, lol! So that descriptor should have caught my eye. I think I just saw the first 2 responses and jumped to the gun with mine, ridiculous me! Anyway, I am hoping one of these days we'll be able to enjoy a photo of your Pileated woodpeckers and your wood beaver! But again, it's so difficult to catch a real-live photo of wildlife and who cares about the photo compared to just the joy of seeing the real thing in person! You must have some really tall massive trees on your property. I would imagine one would need those kinds of trees to attract those woodpeckers. Keep us updated when you! get the chance to see these amazing birds! am crossing my fingers you'll get to see one soon, soon, soon!

Claysmom, perhaps your son would be interested in making his property a Certified Wildlife Habitat? This is easier than most people might think. You just need to provide food, shelter and water for various types of animals. You can Google it and read all about the requirements online, and even print out an application for the official certification. Nicki's city yard is certified, so even those without rural property can qualify. I encourage everyone who is interested to check it out. (If I can managed to stay on the computer long enough, I'll see if I can find the link, but I'm having some unanticipated difficulties from my foot surgery, and won't be here very long.) Glad you guys enjoyed seeing this old post pop up again. I do love these birds, and am happy it was of interest to you. Marcia

i have my feeders on a branch not far from the kitchen window. i get birds banging the windows often lucky that they are just taking off from a few foot away because i only had two in years that knocked themselves out. One reovered before i went outside and flew away. the other was alive and breathing when i went out but dazed i put him in a platform feeder in the sun and he laid there for 10 or 15 minutes before he flew away. Most of the time that i know of it's a neighbors cat coming into the yard or a hawk or owl ot some bigger bird swooping in that scares them. Last winter i put christmas labels and stickers scattered over the window. and that helped a lot. this year i put new drapes on the window to close at night and in the daytime only open them about a foot or so and it seems to help. also that way i can ease up to the window and look out without scaring the birds and wide enough to shoot photos with a point and shoot digital camera with the flash off so it does not reflect on the window.

Yes, they do nest in snags, although occassionally in dead sections of a live tree. White-headed Woodpeckers are relatively weak excavators, so they need well-decayed snags to excavate a cavity. Thus, they like to use snags where the top has broken off so the cavities are usually below 3 m in height which makes it easier for trapping. We have a few cavities that are less than 3 feet high! That could say something about managed stands, not a lot of large tall snags for them to use. Often, they use old stumps from timber harvests. Of course, that puts them into jeopardy of getting predated by bears. But so far, they are doing okay at least reproductively. I find the nests by following the adults in early spring. I monitor many of the same territories from year to year so I have an idea of where they like to hang out. About mid-May, I start following them in earnest because that is peak time for cavity excavation. If I am lucky, the adult I follow while they forage will eventually lead me back to the cavity when they take turns excavating with the other sex. If that doesn't work, I simply start searching snags in their territory and look for signs of fresh excavating..chips on the ground. If that doesn't work, I wait until they are nesting and try to follow adults as they return to the cavity to incubate or feed the young. Sometimes, all that doesn't even work and they elude me...but not often. :-) We trapped two more males today and put transmitters on them and trapped another male at another nest and just color-banded him as the other researcher wants to put a transmitter on the female on that territory. She will go back later in the week to trap the females of those three pairs...that way we aren't trapping both birds on the same day and stressing them both out. That way, one bird isn't handled and can feed/brood the chicks while the other adult "recovers" from the trapping process. I will try to post more pics this weekend from the trapping and also of some nest snags so people can see what they use. Those are all on my work computer. BN