Humongous woodpecker?

[agapepilgrim]

Has anyone seen a woodpecker larger than a crow, about 4x bigger than the average Pileated woodpecker occasionally seen on our dead tree. This strange creature- if it was a Pileated woodpecker which I doubt- was pecking on a railroad tie in my rock garden. It was at least 3 lbs! What could it be?

[Allen5280]

The Pileated is the largest in North America unless it is an Ivory Billed but they are thought to be extinct. I cant tell the color of its bill if it is ivory it would be really exciting that they are not extinct. My friend here takes lots of bird pictures especially woodpeckers. We had a rare bird show up last year in her yard. Its called the Painted Bunting and it looks like a tropical bird in southern Oklahoma. This year she had the Male return with two females as well., glad they are not extinct!

[agapepilgrim in reply to Allen5280]

My husband saw it clearer than me. He thought it was white. He has better vision than me. The one I saw on our dead tree last summer showed as extinct in my research. I was confused because research said they only grow to 14 oz. This one was MUCH bigger than 14 oz! But it did have the coloring of the Pileated that joins us every year in the dead tree. Lightening struck down the dead tree last fall where it’s been feeding (😫😥) so if it’s the same one and tripled or quadrupled its size it’s trying to find worms from the railroad tie. The dead tree was a symbol for me to keep standing. When it was knocked down and had to be cut up I saved the stump and put a bird house on it for smaller houses. I refuse to give up, even though I complain, groan, whine, scream, cry, ask why me, and know I will only get worse cause my cousin died of this monstrous treacherous disease. But I will enjoy the birds and put the hummingbird feeders out front porch and hope the weirdo woodpecker comes around!

[Allen5280 in reply to agapepilgrim]

The thought to be extinct ivory-billed are almost 2 feet long and almost 3 foot wingspan. That is a very large woodpecker if it is the ivory-billed here are some links for info and the second is a link to conservation and it might be good to contact them. If your husband was sure of the white bill you may have an critically endangered bird

g.co/kgs/fv5kn8

abcbirds.org/bird/ivory-bil...

[agapepilgrim in reply to Allen5280]

What can I do to get it to return? I would love to get a video of it to share with you.

[Allen5280 in reply to agapepilgrim]

I dont know other than put some woodpecker suit cakes out

[agapepilgrim in reply to Allen5280]

Where should I put them since my dead tree is gone? And I will google how to make them I guess. Not motivated to cook got myself but i will prepare food for an I know weird crazy looking bird. Ain’t that something? 🤪

[Allen5280 in reply to agapepilgrim]

You can get the suit cakes where the bird food is. They have metal wire boxes to hang from any tree or post. There are several types but some specifically for woodpeckers. Her woodpeckers ter her suit cakes up. She has northern flicker woodpeckers, redheaded woodpeckers and the pileated too... along with the little black and white ones and black white and red sapsuckers I think. She also hangs some from Sheppard hooks in the yard along with hummingbird feeders everywhere.

[agapepilgrim in reply to Allen5280]

I would like to sit in her yard. I’ve never put put bird feed. Birds here seem to find their own food, except I do put outb2 hummingbird feeders because they totally amaze- doing the impossible to survive because that’s what we must do to survive, the MS people, and very few people know it. Some people are born with the aptitude and character to “handle” it better than others - the eternal optimists, the charismatic from births,?thr sanguines from birth who have never suffered thru a day of fro dark depression in their lives. The lucky ones born with positive minded dna -?if you know any of those people. I think the hummingbirds and roadrunners know they just have to keep going in spite of what the day brings so I can watch for another Pileated woodpecker or a sunrise a peaceful happy song or a long forgotten Bible promise I stumble upon while reading

DRAt!!! I forgot and left bacon cooking on the stove and now it’s burnt to a crisp! I hate my memory loss that comes with my version of MS - can’t stay focused on anything. I was craving biscuits and bacon gravy. Ain’t life grand?! Back to the fake ice cream, I guess.

[Allen5280 in reply to agapepilgrim]

I burned spam earlier today. I was trying to do more than one thing at a time.

I used to always have hummingbird food out but not this year. I cant do it. I dont feed birds either. I put out food at my old house for game birds like grouse and Turkey would visit my yard. I had one bird feeder but had 14 hummingbird feeders that would empty in a few days. I miss my hummingbird habitat at my old home. I miss my home and my roadrunners. Depression has me so bound my harmonica has gone silent. I played Don Mclean's American Pie the other day and well..... I dont know.

[Amore55]

We saw a very similar woodpecker, huge, in Missouri last summer. Wish I could remember if the bill was white. But I just remember how stunned we were at it’s size. We always saw vultures, buzzards, etc, but this was absolutely a woodpecker. Kelly xx

[agapepilgrim in reply to Amore55]

I’m convinced by the majority - Pileated woodpecker

[Iona60]

This looks like a pileated woodpecker to me. The ones that come to our yard are quite large, probably about 12 to 14 inches long.