Ms Pileated

Featured image: Ms Pileated

I don’t know what it is about a pileated woodpecker that fascinates me. Is it the rhythmic drumbeat of their sound when looking for something to eat in a dead standing tree? Is it their largeness compared to other birds? Is it their wingspan as they dip down between the trees? Is it their coloring, such stark black, white and red? Is it their energy and their edginess? Is it that they mate for life, showing loyalty? Is it their shyness, and aloofness?

For me, the fascination of the pileated woodpecker can be any one of these things or all of them. I feel so blessed when they come to my feeders and peck away at the suet that I put out for them. There are four of them in our woods, male, female, and a couple of young ones. It was so much fun watching the four of them pecking at the ground for worms like a robin does.

Online, the feeder.com states the histories, stories and traditions of cultures across the world regarding birds. It states that the Pileated Woodpecker represents power, creativity and productivity. No wonder they are so fascinating for me.
It was fun to paint this one and all the tangles emerging from her head. I imagined that these tangles represented her loyalty, determination, her creativity and productivity.