[NatureNS] Pileated Woodpecker nest holes

From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
References: <1415895402898.78659@Dal.Ca>
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 21:49:56 -0400
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Hi Darrell,
    Great shot. Do you have any definite Pileated nesting or roosting =
holes for which you have measurements of entrance dimension ?=20
Yt, Dave W.

  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: darrell@abolitphotos.ca=20
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
  Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2014 7:24 PM
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Pileated Woodpecker nest holes


  Here is a female Pileated woodpecter feeding her young in a nest =
cavity..  =
http://abolitphotos.exposuremanager.com/p/birds/_mg_9350youngmalepileated=
woodpeckerbeingfedbymother_2



  All the best,



  =
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=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D





  On Thu, 27 Nov 2014 18:25:03 -0400, David & Alison Webster =
<dwebster@glinx.com> wrote:


    Hi Ian & All,                            Nov 27, 2014
        Thanks for the comments.=20
        About the time I sent those images of a "Pileated" woodpecker =
nesting cavity on Nov 12 I realized that it could well be the cavity of =
a smaller woodpecker e.g. Hairy. My only reason for the Pileated label =
was having seen/heard Pileated on or near that tree about 2011, the =
presumed Pileated activity about 50 paces away (Apr 4, 2013 e-mail) and =
the  Pileated observed making a hole about 200 paces away (Apr 15, 2013 =
e-mail); both pasted below.=20
        According to the Cornell site, a Pileated  entrance hole should =
be ~3.5" diameter with nesting cavity 10-24" deep. Based on my photos =
that entrance was about 1.6" in diameter and the cavity was about 15" =
deep. So for the time being one should regard my images as being of a =
Woodpecker nesting cavity.=20
        Those nesting hole pieces are currently on top of the wood tier, =
holding plastic down, and I will measure the dimensions directly when I =
have a chance because a scale in images can be deceptive due to =
parallax.

        That Apr 15, 2013 tree was topped by Arthur but I don't know =
whether the break was above, at or below the Pileated hole. I had =
intended to leave both snag & top as wildlife habitat but, now that the =
question of entrance hole dimensions has come up, I will try to get =
measurements if feasible.=20

    Yt, Dave Webster Kentville


    START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\
    Dear All,                    Apr 15, 2013
        On Apr 4, I split some Poplar windfall wood chunked Dec 26 some =
200=20
    paces from the Pileated hole (below).
        On Apr 6, I split the rest and noticed Pileated chips nearby but =
could=20
    not see.where the chips had come from. On Apr 7 I worked there =
briefly,=20
    clearing space for a tier, and noticed more chips.
        Today I started piling above split wood and soon became aware of =

    Pileated activity in the the tree about one pace from the end of the =
tier;=20
    first as falling chips while I was cutting runners with the chain =
saw and=20
    then (after removing ear plugs) tuck    tuck    tuck (like a =
one-lunger on=20
    idle and far enough away to be barely audible) and with about 1/2 of =
the=20
    tail sticking out from the hole and upward. After a few minutes of =
this it=20
    would back out of the hole, reach in and down, pull its head back =
out and=20
    flick 2 or 3 chips to the right.
        It did not seem at all disturbed by my working there but acted =
anxious=20
    and took off when I tried to take a picture. Within minutes of my =
starting=20
    to work again it came back and resumed work on the nest cavity. I =
was there=20
    about 90 min and it worked most of this time; except when I spooked =
it with=20
    the camera and once when it flew to a nearby Ash, cackled, moved =
upward in=20
    the Ash and then flew back to the hole.
        I have watched Pileated feeding many times but not seen a nest =
cavity=20
    being excavated. The surprise was how muted the sound is. Making a =
hole in=20
    wood parallel to the grain is very difficult unless you have a =
relief hole=20
    drilled first and can see; so how they manage is a mystery. This =
tree is=20
    free of Fomes brackets but the tree center may be softened by fungal =

    invasion.
        On an unrelated note, I saw on Apr 4 where a Squirrel had left a =
litter=20
    of White Pine cone scales on wood cut Dec 26. But the nearest White =
Pine is=20
    about 200 yards away (400 yards as the Squirrel runs across, up, =
along,=20
    down...). The attraction here is perhaps the shelter provided by the =
partly=20
    upturned SE facing stump of the windfall; used by Ruffed Grouse also =
at some=20
    point.
    YT, Dave Webster, Kentville



    ----- Original Message -----=20
    From: "David & Alison Webster" <dwebster@glinx.com>
    To: <NatureNS@chebucto.ns.ca>
    Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2013 6:41 PM
    Subject: Pileated WP


    > Dear All,                        Apr 4, 2013
    >    While in North Alton this afternoon I noticed that a Pileated=20
    > Woodpecker (to judge from the size of the chips and size of the =
hole)=20
    > recently made a nest hole well up in a Poplar. I want to avoid the =

    > immediate area until I am reasonably sure they have either settled =
in or=20
    > moved on.
    >
    >    Is Mid-May a safe time ?
    > Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville=20

    eND OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
       =20
      ----- Original Message -----=20
      From: Ian McLaren=20
      To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
      Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2014 12:16 PM
      Subject: [NatureNS] Pileated Woodpecker nest holes


      David et al:


      Rot appears to be a choice among Pileated oopdpeckers, as =
indicated in snippets from "The Birsds of N. Am". on-in.


      [In the east] "The majority of nest trees were dead (Table 3), and =
most of the nest trees fell over, broke apart, or were cracked by the =
following year and were unsuitable for nesting again . . ."  =20

      And:  "In Montana, roost trees contained more entrance holes and =
had a higher basal area in surrounding forest than at nest trees =
(McClelland and McClelland 1999). In Arkansas, nests were in decayed =
dead trees that typically were not suitable for nesting a second year; =
roosts were primarily in larger, taller, live trees with multiple =
cavities . . ."


      The second snippet is interesting. Does anyone know about the =
making and use of roost cavities here?



      Cheers, Ian





      Ian McLaren





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