Pileated Woodpecker
This is a photo from the spring of 2006 – a pileated woodpecker allowed me to snap a few shots while he hammered away at a rotten log in Tryon Creek State Park. This was truly a rare thing to witness at such a close distance – these birds are usually more skittish. Amazingly, the 2nd such encounter for me in a 2 week span (the other was in Hillsboro).
Pileated Woodpecker
Here’s the other sighting, just 2 weeks prior to the first. This bird was hammering away on a stump, then hopped over to this nearby trunk.