Female Pileated Woodpecker

All comments welcome. (More shots of this bird at

www.studioedwards.com/photos/pileated) - Thanks for your comments!

Nice shot of Pileated. I looked at your others and I am really impressed. The real trick here I suspect is that you were able to get the bird to come in so close. Any hints you have on that I would like to hear.

Una gran captura y dificil de capturar , saludos

Una gran captura y dificil de capturar , saludos

The trick is to provide the birds with food and then hide from them behind something that exposes only the camera's lens. Then wait for the birds to come. With pileated woodpeckers, unfortunately, it's possible to wait a lifetime. So I was thankful, to say the least, when this one appeared. (The truth is, I almost wet my pants.) Chris Gomersall's excellent book, "Photographing Wild Birds" is full of examples of this technique.

Thanks for the tip on the book. I bait the birds as well but I suspect bladder control would be an issue for me if a Pileated showed up. Perhaps next you will get an Ivory Billed. Better bring a change of pants just in case.