As soon as I walked up to this tree these 2 heads popped out. I wasn’t the first to see these juvenile pileated woodpeckers. This was a known nest and was easy to find. I didn’t get to the park until the babies were almost grown though. I had heard there were big crowds watching when they were much smaller so I waited until the frenzy wore off.

Mom came in several times to feed them.

Once the parent left to go get more food the babies would quiet down for a while until the parent came flying back in and then the screaming started back up. This was Dad flying in (only the males have a red streak across their cheek).

We were quietly waiting for a parent to fly back when we heard some banging on the ground right in front of us. Dad was banging around looking for bugs.

He was right at our feet and I took the above video with my phone.

One more feeding from Mom and I was ready to go home and eat lunch.  These babies fledge a few days later.