Inventory 2005 => 2006: One Kent Call, One double rap, 4 possible sightings. The first and most influential occurred May 2005. Just off of Big bend down river from Aberdean landing. I was creeping up on large woodpecker sounds when from my right side and approximately 60 feet high a large woodpecker flew out and directly over me to continue above the trees until out of sight. The sun was at such an angle that I could not make out distinct markings more resemblance of a silhouette against the overcast sky. The amazing point to this sighting was that the bird gave 5 distinct distress calls spaced evenly apart and evenly pitched as it escaped. kent….kent….kent….kent….kent. These calls do not resemble the Allen audio but did sound as no other call I have heard. The closest resemblance would be that of an off key fish crow; however the bird was not a crow. Estimated time of sighting and distress calls, about 8 to 10 seconds making the calls spaced 2 seconds apart.

Second. Sighting southeast of Forked Lakes WRNWR.

Second. June 2005. Late morning 10:30 clear skies thick vegetation, Pileated mobbing was heard and was moving toward at an angle from me so I began moving in a direction to intercept to see what all the fuss was about. I came close enough to view but only through tunnels in the thick understory. There in I saw a text book like image of a large woodpecker with white secondaries at perch, red crest. I remember thinking that is a Pileated because I can hear his call, a Pileated with white secondaries? Time of sighting 3 seconds , distance to bird actually unknown due to the influence of peering through tunnels of vegetation but anywhere from 20 to 40 yards.

Third.

August 2005, from the same exact location as the May possible sighting, one distinct Kent note, as distinct as the published Allen and Kellogg recordings. The note immediately followed by jays mimicking for about 10 seconds. I never saw this bird the bird that made the initial call that stirred up the Jays.

September 2005. While searching on the move, spooked a large woodpecker at about 30 yards. The bird moved out in a hurry trailing white on its lower wings, time of observation 2 to 3 seconds, and a mirrored image of the published video we have all seen the Leneau video. From a distance, I noticed, what I though at the time, was scaling on the very limb the bird flushed from. I was back the next day and after about 6 hours of observation gave up but did not approach. The next weekend I went back to the same tree and approached and after closer view realized that what I had though was scaling was in fact white Lichen or moss of some sort. I did report this sighting to the Cornell web site. This sighting was at the top of my list although at that distance I feel that I should have heard “wing sounds” and I did not. Near and North of East Lake WRNWR.

 Fourth.

Notes from that day, December 11^th 2005. “Weekend on the White NWR. Blue Sky and high pressure is the berries in my book. The activity was diurnal for anything with feathers or hair. Nothing moved during the mid day. Birding activity in the afternoon picked up after 2:30 and peaked about 3:45 or 4:00. Sundown is about 4:50 these days. Heard my first double rap Saturday, probable a Pileated since I( OR SOMETHING ELSE) was being mobbed by Pileated at the time.” End notes. WRNWR on the Big Bend below Aberdeen. The mobbing began around 16:00 from immediately in front of me and continued as it moves past my left side at approximately 60 yards and behind me. Soon after the mobbing subsided. I observed three Pileated fly back across to in front of me where the mobbing had originated. Seconds latter a loud single double rap from where the mobbing had subsided. I remember thinking “O.K. that is an IBWO, successful stand against the mobbing Pileated and he is boasting that fact”. 

January 2006. Back to the boat on the White River at 2 in the afternoon for the trip

home. Just west of Forked Lakes WRNWR. While motoring slow at about 10 mph and relaxing some I notice a fast moving large woodpecker at about 100 yards adjacent to me swoop up to perch. As I came adjacent to it again another fast flight and swoop up to perch, repeated a third time, then gone. This bird flew very fast and straight, not undulating, and the swoop arc a distance of what must have been 25 to 30 feet. If this was a Pileated then it was a very athletic Pileated and probably should wear a crash helmet, at that speed.

May 2006. Across the river from Aberdeen landing, there is a well marked birding trail there now, new this year, marked with bright yellow paint. While walking slowly down this trail, you know in the method of taking 10 steps and stopping to observe for a minute or two then 10 more steps, I had stopped to look and listen over my left shoulder when from my right and crossing in front of me at about 20 yards a large woodpecker came flying across, not in escape speed but more in just normal flight speed, the bird had a red crest and was flying kind of arched with it’s head turned as to view back and get a good look at me as it flew, also at the same time it was dodging limbs as it flew, therefore flight pattern was erratic and not diagnostic of IBWO or Pileated. After identifying the red crest my next objective was to rule out Pileated due to trailing white of the secondary. I could not due this, even after several sightings of Pileated at the same distance and angle of flight in my experience I could see trailing white but I could not confirm the whitespots of a Pileated. I never conclusively ruled out Pileated although I believe that is was a pileated. The stickler and the stickler that stands out with this sighting, I clearly heard wing sounds. Yes, wing sounds from a Pileated. Possible that the erratic flight pattern of the bird looking back at me as flying forward or the dodging of the limbs caused the bird’s wing beats to perform in a non-typical angle but I clearly could hear the wings. I have been able to emulate this sound by cupping my hand and with a back stroke motion lightly and briskly grazing my finder nails across a wicker chair.

 Summation. I have not preformed this year as I should. Putting myself on a performance improvement plan immediatly and spending more money on equipment upgrades before this fall, a dissapointing year when all added up however I am blaming the drought, the lack of water and it is lack of water that I believed caused no possible sightings from the end of September to mid Janurary of 2006. That period is when I was most activeily searching but with zero results during that period. It was great being out there, every day was different and you always knew that there would be a high point and a low point of the day's search and each day was unpredictable and on the trip home reliving the high point was happy, reliving the low point was learning.