A Pileated Woodpecker family in the marsh- 6/02/2023

My previous blog was on a Pileated Woodpecker nest hole and the pair that excavated it. It appeared that the woodpeckers were sitting on eggs, but after a week or two, there was no more activity indicating that the nest failed due to predators or human interference. The nest was right next to a parking lot.

A second nest that I was following was in a dead tree out in a marsh in Wrentham, and these parents produced two amazing chicks, a male and a female. As the chicks got older, they were quite vocal and endlessly demanding food. In the photos shown, you can start to see the red coloration of the malar stripe that distinguishes the male from the female. Even at this age, both chicks will still be fed by regurgitation from the parents, and I found it amazing that no injury occurred! The chicks will fledge from the nest about 26-28 days after hatching, but they will remain with their parents for another two months into fall.

Watching and photographing this Pileated Woodpecker family was an amazing experience, but even more surprising was the amount of other activity that was going on in this one tree. There was a Common Grackle nest just above, and the Grackle parents continuously harassed the Pileated parents making it difficult for them to feed their young.

There were also two female Hooded Mergansers that had their eye on the hole, and at least one would enter the nest even when a Pileated parent and the young were in there. One of the attached pictures shows Dad’s opinion when the Merganser left the nest. He is not happy with the intrusion, and the Merganser has lost some of its feathers!

Our two little chicks fledged 4 days after I took these photos, and I wish them the best! I will be looking in the same general area next year in hopes of seeing the male Pileated Woodpecker courting his mate and starting the process all over again. As I write this article, the female Hooded Merganser, and a female Wood Duck have their eye on the nest hole as prime real estate…