What kind of bird?

[The Evil Twin]

Walking whe property with the mutt yesterday, I spied this hole in a tree. My first thought was woodpecker. Then I noticed the shredded wood down below. They are like straps and not chips.
I'm no bird guy, although my mom has called me a bird brain.

 

[ken erickson]

My best guess would be Pileated woodpecker.

 

[The Evil Twin]

We definitely have them here. I have seen them pecking the upper branches around our house.
I just never imagined a bird tearing off strips of wood.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

it's a 'smart' bird !!!! Finally figured out banging it's head against the tree was hurting it more than the tree !!!

 

[Moose7060]

I believe Ken is correct. Pileated Woodpecker.

 

[The Evil Twin]

Pileated it is!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I just call them all 'Woody'.......

 

[bbxlr8]

Have some very big ones up here in eastern PA - cool birds.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

For some reason they LOVE the stucco on new house next door,even though there's 14 big trees on the lot....

 

[ctfjr]

I believe Ken is correct. Pileated Woodpecker. View attachment 146576

We had them at the old house. For whatever reason, he did a number on the wooden telephone pole in front of the house. How many bugs do you think he found in there?
Made massive holes.

 

[RCW]

Yes, I agree with all that it’s likely a Pileated Woodpecker.

We have them regularly here. Went after a butternut stump and I’ll bet it would throw chips almost 10 feet. They also have some pretty cool vocalizations if you get the chance to hear them.

 

[McMXi]

Yes, I agree with all that it’s likely a Pileated Woodpecker.

We have them regularly here.

I've only ever seen one Pileated Woodpecker in my 11 years at this house and it was a monster! But I have lots of other types of Woodpeckers, and of course Flickers which are destructive little bastards, just like most Woodpeckers.

 

[The Evil Twin]

My parents old house had cedar siding. It was a constant battle to keep them away.

 

[RCW]

I've only ever seen one Pileated Woodpecker in my 11 years at this house and it was a monster! But I have lots of other types of Woodpeckers, and of course Flickers which are destructive little bastards, just like most Woodpeckers.

Yeah, they’re probably crow-size or a little bigger.

We have Flickers here also. Pretty birds with a cool song if I recall correctly (?).

Our very first night in this house 33 Years ago a woodpecker was going after my neighbors aluminum ladder……made a huge racket for hours and hours…... I thought welcome to the neighborhood…..

 

[jaxs]

Before seeing the other examples I was convinced a fury animal did it but now I agree with Pileated Pecker ( we don't have them here).

 

[DustyRusty]

Yeah, they’re probably crow-size or a little bigger.

We have Flickers here also. Pretty birds with a cool song if I recall correctly (?).

Our very first night in this house 33 Years ago a woodpecker was going after my neighbors aluminum ladder……made a huge racket for hours and hours…... I thought welcome to the neighborhood…..

He was sharpening his pecker to get it to a point where he could attack the hardwood.

 

[Geezer3d]

They prefer the pine trees which are infested with carpenter ants around here.

 

[je1279]

Definitely appears to be an angry woodpecker. At my parents lake house, there was one who routinely tried to peck through a neighbors metal vent at around 5am every morning. It was as annoying as you can imagine...

 

[Lil Foot]

As long as we are playing "What kind of Bird?".....

 

[Moose7060]

As long as we are playing "What kind of Bird?".....

View attachment 146611

My guess is curved bill thrasher but I'm no orinthologist.