[EBB Sightings] Pileated woodpeckers in Redwood Park

Saturday, December 17, 2005
Redwood Regional Park, Oakland

This morning at approximately 10:45 am, Tom Condit and Marsha Feinland saw 
a female Pileated Woodpecker in Redwood Regional Park and heard another 
bird calling to her before she flew off in the direction of the calls.

We were on the southern part of the Phillips Loop when we heard wood being 
tapped downslope from us. The tapping was strong enough to be a Pileated, 
but not the real jackhammer sound. Then the bird flew over the trail in 
front of us and lit in a tree almost directly downslope from the snag where 
a male Pileated was seen on Tuesday. We saw the wing pattern clearly as she 
flew over, and when she lit in a vertical posture on the tree we could see 
clearly that the red on the crest didn't extend down to the bill, and there 
was no red facial stripe. She stayed in the tree for 2-3 minutes, with 
another bird calling from further east, then took off and flew up and over 
the East Ridge Trail.

So now we know we have at least two Pileateds here. The weather's going to 
be rotten tomorrow (rain and wind), but people counting in Huckleberry, the 
part of San Leandro Reservoir by the east side of the ridge and/or Canyon 
might keep an eye out for these birds in case they range further north or east.


Tom Condit
tomcondit at igc.org