Birding/Woodpecker

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Expert: Julia Booth - 3/2/2008


Question

Woodpecker
Is it possible that a Pileated or a ivory billed woodpecker would be in upstate NY. I saw a very large woodpecker today, black and white with a red top pecking away at a dead tree in my yard, it was definitely larger than a crow and the pieces of bark it was extracting were very large. Could someone tell by looking at the tree. It was fascinating to watch but by the time we tried to get a picture it flew to the next yard  and the picture we got it does not look as big as it was. ????? We will attach photo but it is a long ways away when we took it.

Answer
Well the first thing I can tell you is that this is not a Pileated or an Ivory-Billed. We have not seen proof of the existence of Ivory-Bills in quite some time and some birders believe them to be extinct. A Pileated has a completely different head shape and substantially more red.

The plain, white breast and white wing bars and also the body posture makes me think this is a Hairy Woodpecker. It could also be a Downy, which is similar, but a Hairy is slightly larger, but they both have a small, red occipital patch (on the backs of their heads).

If you can remember what it sounded like, that might help narrow it down. The Hairy tends to be a bit noisier and more screeching than the Downy. It's also a bit larger (17 inches instead of 12)

Julia Booth

Expertise

I can answer questions about bird identification (by sight or sound), behavior, distribution, population, conservation, mating, nesting, fledging and feeding. I do have some practical knowledge about foreign species, but identification skills are limited in that arena. Bear in mind that as much as I know, it's possible that at least some of you will ask a question that I am unable to answer. At which point I would direct you to wherever or whomever I thought could provide you with that information.

Experience

I have 15 years birding experience in Southern California.

Organizations
Audubon Society

Education/Credentials
My education is in art and photography -but I have a substantial portfolio of nature related work.

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