Down East Critter Pix
  • HOME
  • JOURNAL
  • NATIONAL REFUGES
  • EAGLES IN THE EAST
  • STATE &LOCAL PARKS
  • THE FIELD

MOSTLY WOODPECKERS AT GOOSE CREEK STATE PARK, NC.

1/29/2017

0 Comments

 
This past Tuesday was a beautiful, sunny day with the kind of deep clear blue sky we get sometime in winter. I visited  Goose Creek State Park in eastern NC . This park is a mixed forest of large pines and oak and other hardwood stretching along the north shore of the Pamlico Sound. Birding is good here year round. On this trip, it seemed that the woodpeckers were having a homecoming celebration! They were everywhere!! I got pictures of most varieties we see in this area, including the Hairy, Red-bellied, Flicker, Yellow-breasted Sapsucker, Red-headed, as well as the largest( Crow sized)  and most striking Pileated. The Pileated Woodpecker is fairly common in this park, but because of their shy behavior, they are not frequently seen. they are more likely to be heard with their loud drumming or their piercing territorial declaration. On most trips here, I may or may not see one, but seldom two. On Tuesday, I saw a record four (record for one day) of these regal birds, the prototype of the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker. The pileated is the only remaining large and striking species left of the original three large woodpeckers in North America. It survives the beautiful Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains, and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker of the U.S., both of which are now extinct.

The Pileated finds food by stripping bark from trees or by probing in holes and rotten areas for beetles, grubs, ants, and other insects. It uses its long, sticky tongue to probe small spaces. The ants, etc, actually stick to the  tongue as the bird withdraws it into its mouth. The pictures below show many shots of the Pileated as they hunt in the large pines at Goose Creek. There are also other Woodpecker species as well as a few other birds.  Enjoy the pics!

SEE GALLERY BELOW. CLICK ON ANY PIC TO ENLARGE. USE SIDE ARROWS TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013


    Categories

    All
    River Park North

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly