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Friends of Kananaskis Country

Enhance, protect and share the unique natural and cultural experiences of Kananaskis Country through public participation and environmental education.

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    • Powderface Creek Trail Project
    • Trail Care
      • Recruiting Crew Leaders & Backcountry Crew
      • Migratory Birds and the Friends
    • Canmore Trail Alliance
    • Trails Fest
    • Environmental Education
    • Chandra Crawford Hut at CNC
  • Engage
    • Sign Up and Join Us
    • Volunteer
      • What are Trail Days like?
      • Trail Day – What to Bring & Expect
      • Volunteer Projects
    • Corporate & Group Trail Days
    • Volunteer Agreement, Release and Waiver of Liability Form
    • Trail Groups and Clubs
  • Library
    • Latest News
    • Annual Reports
    • Great Kananaskis Flood Book
    • Bylaws & Cooperating Agreement
    • Newsletter
      • 2020 Newsletter Archive
      • 2019 Newsletter Archive
      • 2018 Newsletter Archive
      • 2017 Newsletter Archive
      • 2016 Newsletter Archive
      • 2015 Newsletter Archive
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Pileated Woodpecker

They like power poles

If you ever see one, a Pileated is hard to not pay attention to. They’re just huge, make a LOT of noise, and they have this massive red crest that makes them look like what everyone thinks a woodpecker should look like. Hence, they were one of the models for the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker.

For you young ‘uns out there, Woody was popular from 1940 to 1972, the last 15 years on Saturday morning cartoons.

What’s for lunch?

Big bird = big appetite. A Pileated’s favourite meal are the big black carpenter ants that eat out old dead trees. Pileateds can actually hear the ants inside the tree. To get at the ants, they drill massive holes — as big as your fist — into the tree, and then use their long sticky tongue to lick the ants out. The holes they drill are distinctive: large and almost always rectangular.

We’ve also seen them eating dogwood berries. While they love ants, they’ll also eat nuts and seeds, and any other bug that lives in trees (like pine beetle larvae).

Uncommon

Pileateds are not terribly common. A nesting pair requires a large area of forest, typically 40 ha or more, to feed and breed. Their breeding roost is an even bigger hole they drill, up to 60 cm deep and 20 cm wide, and they really like gutting poplars and cottonwoods to do their nesting, often meaning their nests are near rivers. They nest in mid-spring, and have 3-5 chicks that fledge in early July.

Tree wreckers

Pileated Woodpecker Damage

Normally though, you’ll see the evidence of their tree-demolition work far more than you’ll see them. That’s a Pileated’s doing, with an iPhone for scale, pictured at right. The holes are usually near ground level. Any hole higher than 5 m off the ground is a nesting cavity. If you find one tree full of Pileated holes, you’ll typically find several more nearby.

You’ll also hear a Pileated long before seeing one. Their laughing call (which Woody Woodpecker emulated) is loud can be heard a long way away. It also likes to drum, which other woodpeckers (including Flickers) do not. Their drumming is against wood, so sounds much different than the deep drumming sound of a grouse.

Meet some more of the interesting critters of K-Country here!

Did we mention they like power poles?

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Contact Us

email: info@kananaskis.org
Phone: 403.678.5593
Mail Address:
Suite 201, 800 Railway Ave.
Canmore, Alberta
T1W 1P1

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For time immemorial Kananaskis Country has connected people to the land and each other.
We acknowledge the Iyhare Nakoda (the Wesley, Chiniki, and Bearspaw), the three Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy: the Pikani, Kainai and Siksika; the Tsuu T'ina Nation, Metis Nation Region 3 and the Kootenay - the traditional stewards and trail builders who continue to reside, learn and care for this exquisite natural and cultural landscape.
We dedicate ourselves to move forward in partnership in a meaningful way.
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