An Unexpected Visitor

In the woods behind our home we have numerous deer and a family of foxes, and all kinds of birds, but this is the first time in 25 years of living where we do that we have ever seen a Pileated Woodpecker in our back yard. Usually this memorable bird lives deep in the woods, far from the view of people. This amazing crow-sized woodpecker (easily the largest woodpecker in United States) with its zebra-striped head and neck, has a bill which is as long as its head and acts like a chisel to chip wood away. It can live up to 12 or 13 years.