Cool Nature Photos

[MossRoad]

 

[Fuddy1952]

Speaking of pilated woodpeckers we have them here also as well as smaller ones. There's another bird (nuthatch?) that's pretty small but pecks in a circle around the tree...like connect the dots.......
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought if you just take, say, a pocket knife and cut around a healthy tree it can die since you're cutting the living growing part off all the way around.
I understand woodpeckers going after food insects in a diseased tree, but to me the pecking around a healthy tree would cause damage, even killing it.
Am I right?
Thanks...

 

[MossRoad]

Speaking of pilated woodpeckers we have them here also as well as smaller ones. There's another bird (nuthatch?) that's pretty small but pecks in a circle around the tree...like connect the dots.......
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought if you just take, say, a pocket knife and cut around a healthy tree it can die since you're cutting the living growing part off all the way around.
I understand woodpeckers going after food insects in a diseased tree, but to me the pecking around a healthy tree would cause damage, even killing it.
Am I right?
Thanks...

You'd have to cut all the way through the layer (cambrium maybe?) all the way around and wide enough so it can't heal quickly.

For example, if I girdle one of my locust trees with the chainsaw once all the way around, it won't kill the tree. But if I girdle it 2-3 times, it will. Some trees more susceptible than others, I suspect.

 

[kenmbz]

We have a cherry that has holes all around. It is quite healthy.
The pileated Woodpeckers go and dig through rotted stumps.
This works well for me as it makes them rot down faster.
I will try to find the one picture I have.

Till then

 

[ArlyA]

Speaking of pilated woodpeckers we have them here also as well as smaller ones. There's another bird (nuthatch?) that's pretty small but pecks in a circle around the tree...like connect the dots.......
Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought if you just take, say, a pocket knife and cut around a healthy tree it can die since you're cutting the living growing part off all the way around.
I understand woodpeckers going after food insects in a diseased tree, but to me the pecking around a healthy tree would cause damage, even killing it.
Am I right?
Thanks...

​

Pileateds main diet is carpenter ants in dead or dying trees. In general they do not harm healthy trees.

Below is copied from Wiki
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Behavior and ecology​

Male drilling for food

Pileated woodpeckers mainly eat insects, especially carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae. They also eat fruits, nuts, and berries, including poison ivy berries.[15] Pileated woodpeckers often chip out large and roughly rectangular holes in trees while searching out insects, especially ant colonies.[12] They also lap up ants by reaching with their long tongues into crevices. They are self-assured on the vertical surfaces of large trees, but can seem awkward while feeding on small branches and vines. They may also forage on or near the ground, especially around fallen, dead trees, which can contain a variety of insect life. They may forage around the sides of human homes or even cars, and can be observed feeding at suet-type feeders. Although they are less likely feeder visitors than smaller woodpeckers, pileateds may regularly be attracted to them in areas experiencing harsh winter conditions.

Usually, pileated woodpeckers excavate their large nests in the cavities of dead trees. Woodpeckers make such large holes in dead trees that the holes can cause a small tree to break in half. The roost of a pileated woodpecker usually has multiple entrance holes. In April, the hole made by the male attracts a female for mating and raising their young. Once the brood is raised, the birds abandon the hole and do not use it the next year. When abandoned, these holes—made similarly by all woodpeckers—provide good homes in future years for many forest songbirds and a wide variety of other animals. Owls and tree-nesting ducks may largely rely on holes made by pileateds in which to lay their nests. Even mammals such as raccoons may use them. Other woodpeckers and smaller birds such as wrens may be attracted to pileated holes to feed on the insects found in them. Ecologically, the entire woodpecker family is important to the well being of many other bird species. The pileated woodpecker also nests in boxes about 4.6 m (15 ft) off the ground.

 

[deserteagle71]

Life in the Nevada desert....

30 miles from the nearest town, a fast-spinning windmill at an old cow camp provides water for livestock and wildlife alike.

 

[MossRoad]

View attachment 740258

The water flows freely, unharnessed.
The sun strikes no solar panel.
The bridge represents the past, powered by coal.
The power lines are a bridge to the future.

Is that what you were getting at?

 

[Hay Dude]

Life in the Nevada desert....

30 miles from the nearest town, a fast-spinning windmill at an old cow camp provides water for livestock and wildlife alike.
View attachment 740348

I wish I could be transported there right now. Tremendous picture.
Wild country!

 

[MossRoad]

The water flows freely, unharnessed.
The sun strikes no solar panel.
The bridge represents the past, powered by coal.
The power lines are a bridge to the future.

Is that what you were getting at?

I tried to do it in Haiku, but I'm not that ambitious today.

 

[IrishLoader]

Took me over two months to get this shot, several days were close but not right. Most of the time cows would be in frame, I just kinda like the solitude shots.