Female Pileated Woodpecker

I was sitting at my computer and my husband was in the kitchen, when he started shouting about a huge bird outside. Of course, I grabbed for my camera and ran to the deck doors, where I did manage to get off a couple of shots. Above you may see my best photo of a female pileated woodpecker (the male has a red cheek stripe in addition to the red crest).

The bird was feasting on bugs in a rotted tree by the deck. These are the remains of the "hero tree" from the great ice storm of the first week of January of 2005. That night, hundreds of trees fell, about one every 15 minutes, including a whole bunch that fell toward the house. This tree caught - and held - many of those trees. The roof was toast, of course, but this very tree SAVED my house!!!

It was a good day for butterflies in the backyard. The joe-pye weed is coming into full, fluffy, pink bloom, and the butterflies love it. There was also a monarch that came by for some serious snacking, but the photo in the extras is of one of the darker swallowtails. Enjoy!

The soundtrack song is for the pileated woodpecker, who looks like a creature from an ancient age in history. Let's give it a song to fit (and yes, I know I've used it before, it's a fave): Survivor, with Ever Since the World Began.