Pileated Woodpecker on grass feeding baby with another baby looking on in the background by kyletansley on iNaturalist

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker is one of Kingston's more-than-human neighbours, a year-round resident who reads the forest by percussion. After settlers cleared the forests, they were absent from Kingston's watersheds for nearly a century. By the late 1940s, once forests recovered and matured, they returned. These kin cards are an invitation to get to know them: who they live in relation with, their gifts, and what they're asking of us.

Pileated Woodpecker kin card

Pileated Woodpecker carves cavities in elder trees that over 30 species of birds and mammals depend on, including Wood Duck, Screech-Owl, Flying Squirrel, and Little Brown Bat. They tap trunks, listening for the resonance change that tells them Carpenter Ant is inside. Trembling Aspen and Poplar are popular nest trees, wood softening with heart rot earlier than Maple or Oak.

Pileated Woodpecker at the planning table

What sustains them, what they give to this place, what threatens them, and what a workable Biodiversity Action Plan looks like from where they stand. This season, this decade, this century.

Get to know Pileated Woodpecker. Return through the seasons. Record what you observe on iNaturalist.

Notice: In February and March, listen for slow, loud drumming. If you hear it, you are inside their territory. In April, listen for loud, irregular chipping and follow the sound to their nest tree. Look for fresh pale chips at the base and an oval entrance hole, roughly 10 cm wide, 6 to 9 metres up. Return in spring to watch for Wood Duck.

Act: Leave snags standing for Pileated to feed, nest, and roost in. Plant trees, for one day every tree can become a snag. Make a stumpery to attract the Carpenter Ants Pileated eats in spring, summer, and fall. Plant Elderberry, Sumac, Dogwood, Winterberry, and Hawthorn for the berries Pileated eats in winter.

Kingston is drafting a Biodiversity Action Plan. Pin a place that matters to Pileated Woodpecker.

Get involved: Little Forests Kingston is growing. We're looking for people who want to build relationships with the land and tend them over time. Forest Stewards, Neighbourhood Weavers, Community Scientists, Seed Keepers and more. You don't need to arrive knowing everything. Do any of these roles call to you?