New Guest....First Time Ever Spotted...Pileated Woodpecker!!

It's always so very exciting to hear about a first sighting or to experience a first sighting or to welcome wildlife to the garden that one hasn't seen in a very, very long time! A first sighting while on holidays, on a hike near home or anywhere is just so amazing to experience! We've been delighted to share with you photos of some of our "firsts", along with the regulars, or those we haven't seen since childhood.  Today was another one of those days for us!!

Upon arriving home earlier, we heard a loud, hollow knocking. Didn't really think much about it...it wasn't really that loud! We noticed a Crow part way up a tree but it wasn't doing anything to make this type of noise. Something told us to get the camera and go back outside. Upon further investigation, we discovered a Pileated Woodpecker at the base of one of our trees. Struggling to get the camera in focus in order to get a few decent shots, we realized there were in fact two of these beauties!!  Still shaking with excitement, while also trying to hold a fully zoomed camera lens & once again focus, we noticed a third "flaming red crest"!! For the most part, this third one remained hidden on the other side of the tree and since we didn't want to scare them all off by trying to get closer, we just captured what we could with the zoomed lens!! Many thanks for not minding our excitement...We've never seen one before, but after seeing so many pictures of them, they were on our "list"!!

Beautiful Pileated Woodpecker!!