I read that the male Pileated Woodpecker is the nest maker spending days hollowing out a cavity in a dead tree. I found this guy hard at work yesterday making a nest. Now, a word about equipment, and, no, this woodpecker had no idea I was near. I shot this with a Nikon z9 mirrorless camera with a Nikon 200-400 zoom lens zoomed out to 400mm and a 1.5 teleconverter. Even with that zoom power and with me being 75-100 feet away the woodpecker’s whole body filled maybe 10-15% of the frame. Using photoshop and good sharpening tools I was able to make a pretty remarkable photo of the upper half of his body and the cavity he was working on. Pretty good detail I must say.
Making A Nest
April 1, 2026
