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By Brice Jones
Special to the Rappahannock News
“Yukca, yukca, yukca” comes a loud piercing sound from inside the woods; “tat a tat tat tat” reverberates from a hollow tree. That shrieking cry and the penetrating drumming sound resound from valley to valley here in Rappahannock.
These two sounds belong to our largest woodpecker in North America, the Pileated Woodpecker. This timid, crow-sized woodpecker is not seen as often as one might think. But the sounds and the excavated holes in trees and logs are evidence of this unique bird’s presence.
In the early 1900s massive logging and clear cutting thinned much of the Eastern woodlands. The Pileated became nearly eradicated in New England and the Middle Atlantic states. Its survival was and is dependent upon the existence of large trees in which to build its huge nest cavities. Thankfully, some of the forests have renewed, and this bird population has recovered and is now somewhat common in our area.
According to Sibley’s Guide to Bird Behavior the Pileated has unique physical attributes. The woodpecker’s tail, among other characteristics, is key. It is used as its primary support as the bird moves up and down the trunks of trees. These tail feathers are extremely stiff and supported by large muscles in assisting this feather movement.
The woodpecker’s feet are also
See WOODPECKER, Page B2
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