Fledged

We've been following the progress of a (pair of?) pileated woodpecker who made a nest in a tree not far from my house. First we were seeing the bird(s) flying around more than usual this spring. We were hearing their call, which is sort of like the background sounds in an old Tarzan movie. Then we were realizing that they were spending a lot of time on the dead tree. There is a sizable hole in the trunk, facing west. Soon we were hearing the bird's call, as well as some other minor squawking noises from that direction. I could usually see one of the baby bird's heads peeking out of the hole. I could only wonder about how crowded that nest might be, since pileated woodpeckers are so large. There was certainly no room for the mama bird in there. I was able to get a picture confirming that there were at least two birds in the nest. Yesterday, I heard their call quite loudly while I was still in bed.

By afternoon, I realized that I was no longer hearing any noises from that tree and there were no heads peaking out. They must have fledged. I wish we had seen it.

There is another picture I took of a pileated woodpecker last year on this link, about halfway down.

You know, when my oldest went away to college, my husband and I talked about our own youth and we talked about how interesting it would be to be a fly on the wall and observe what she was doing. Well, maybe not. We've fledged our three children. One or two may come back home later this summer. Once fledged successfully, they are too big for the nest, if the parent wants some comfort in that nest.