Of the eight woodpecker species that can be found in New Hampshire, the pileated woodpecker is the largest. It has a crest of blaze red that, paired with the bird’s large size, gives this woodpecker a striking appearance indeed. During my first interactions with these birds, I was taken by surprise by the sound of the wind from this bird’s wings. I was so used to the near soundless gliding of songbirds or the gentle and rapid fluttering of a chickadee’s wings that the veritable billowing of wind from the pileated woodpecker was almost alarming.

As with all woodpeckers, this bird can be found loudly hammering away in the forest. It drills unique rectangular holes in trees, unlike the circular holes left behind by other woodpecker species.