Another post serving as more a documentation note, as opposed to fine prose. I’ll start writing again, as I have in past blogs… past lives. At the moment I am working out a new-to-me web host and getting in the practice of placing my photos somewhere.
Pileated Woodpecker had been reported late 2019 in one part of the county along the Brazos River. This species, a denizen of the east Texas Piney Woods, is a rarity in McLennan County. Potential habitat exists, though mostly along riparian corridors, in a limited scope.
The same observer reported this species the 3rd of January along the Bosque River and I chased it the following day. The photo is from January 4th at Waco Lake Hike & Bike Trail.
A bit of a ghost, loud and location-giving when vocal, a single Pileated Woodpecker has been a tough tick to pick up for interested birders. For a woodpecker the size of a crow with white wing flashes below, above a jet-black body, and an erect red crest, this individual has proved remarkably enigmatic.
matthew-york.com 