The American Emblem and Woody Woodpecker Have Shown Up

[MineralMan]

I take this as a good sign that things are turning around:

First, a couple of days ago, I was standing on our balcony deck here in the northwest Twin Cities metro. As I stood there, a bald eagle soared past at my eye level, just 10 feet from the deck. It then swooped up and landed at the top of a nearby tree. That is my closest ever encounter with a bald eagle.

Then, just now, as I was standing on that same deck, a pileated woodpecker flew in and proceeded to hunt for bugs and grub in the maple tree 12 feet from the other side of the deck. It looked at me nonchalantly, and kept searching as I called my wife to come out and see it. After we both got our eyes full of this majestic and dramatic Fall visitor, it flew off, just feet away from us.

Life goes on all around us. There is hope that it will continue to do so. I take those events as optimistic signs.

[Diamond_Dog]

1. Those pleated woodpeckers are really a sight to behold.

One flew about three feet over my head a few weeks ago when I was out walking my dog.

But, a bald Eagle!! Wow - that would have been really special!

[hunter]

2. Coincidentally, I saw a Golden Eagle today.

Huge bird compared to the red tail hawks.

I'm not sure they'd be around here any more if not for the environmentalists, starting with the The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

https://www.audubon.org/news/the-migratory-bird-treaty-act-explained

[Ohio Joe]

3. Bald Eagles are scary up close...

About six months after I moved to Colorado, a guy I knew and I were in the garage smoking and talking. The back door to the garage was open and through it we saw one land on the backyard fence (about 20 feet past the door). Fucking thing looked huge... We kind of just stared at it for a bit... And it staring back at us... Then I reached out and closed the door. Heh, I was afraid it might carry me away to feed to it's young.

[TheBlackAdder]

11. Just ask this dipshit!

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[rickyhall]

4. I think that's what we have had in our yard for several years now, but not lately.

[a kennedy]

5. Good for you.....I see Bald Eagles daily.....I live really close to the Mississippi River and

we see them all the time. I counted 9 eagle nests in a span of 20 miles……😳 😳 😳 They have really made a huge comeback. Now that pileated woodpecker, THAT is a real find, and so beautiful….very jealous of that.

[MineralMan]

6. Pileated woodpeckers have visited the maple trees at

Both of our houses in Minnesota. Lucky.

[a kennedy]

7. I'm so jealous.......

[MineralMan]

8. They're prehistoric-looking.

[MineralMan]

9. Here's a low quality video I took of

A female pileated woodpecker and her two fledgling in the front yard of my previous house. Mom.evend feeds her babies un the video:

[a kennedy]

12. OMGAWD......that is so awesome.....they are just so beautiful. And damn, so jealous.

I’ve seen one, one, by chance flying over our car…….I almost ran off the road trying to get a better look. Love that video, thanks for sharing.

[Archae]

10. Saw a P. Woodpecker years ago up at my Mom's house in northern WI, what a treat.

This huge bird flew past, I thought it was one of the ravens I saw at my Mom's place often.

It was bigger, and I saw that distinctive head.

Mom and I were both just fascinated by such a big unusual bird, one I never see here in Sheboygan.

[Chautauquas]

13. I've been getting daily visits from a red-bellied woodpecker

shows up for the peanuts I put out for bluejays. The jays take multiple peanuts but the woodpecker just takes one or two.