Pileated Woodpecker removing a fecal sac...

[Joseph Przybyla]

I observed this nesting pair of Pileated Woodpeckers a couple hours each morning over several days. The parents would be away from the nest cavity searching for food. The chicks would be peaking or sticking their heads out of the nest cavity waiting to be fed. When either parent arrived it would first feed the chicks each in turn, the older one or ones being the most aggressive would get the most (there are advantages to being the first egg to hatch). After feeding the parent would go inside the nest cavity to soon emerge with a fecal sac in it's bill which it would fly away with to drop away from the nest. In some nesting birds the fecal material of the nestlings is enclosed in a tough mucous membrane which enables the parents to more easily keep the nest/nest cavity clean by removing the waste. This is the female Pileated Woodpecker emerging with the fecal sac after cleaning the nest. After each feeding this is done. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED shot at 400mm (600mm FFE)
1/2000 F/8 Matrix Metering +1/3 EV IS) 800 AWB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC
Cropped for composition and presentation

[William Dickson]

Very nice Joe, and good on you for observing this over a prolonged period. It paid off big style. Very nice detail, not only on the bird, but also the texture on the tree. This bird would have left the hole at a fair old speed so well done on freezing the action here.

Will

[Matthew Jones]

Great job capturing this impressive bird and behaviour Joe. To me the tree trunk is a bit overpowering although I can see that you may have wanted to retain the virtual nest chamber. I had a play in PSCC and think the trunk could be selectively warmed up by 30 to 50 points using a warming filter (in photo filter) this softens the overall image and makes the trunk look less concrety/blocky. Just a thought, cool image which ever way.

[Marina Scarr]

Nice behavior image of this female removing a fecal sac. I have a few from this nest as well. Love how she's shooting like a bullet out of the cavity. My favorite part of photographing these nests is learning their behaviors. They are so smart and such good parents.