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Letter to a Pileated Woodpecker
A bird whose calls make suburban woodlots feel like far-away wildness
© Paul Danese
In this episode, ornithologist J. Drew Lanham reads a letter he has written to a Pileated Woodpecker, a large species of woodpecker that is sometimes mistaken for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.
BirdNote®
Letter to a Pileated Woodpecker
Written by J. Drew Lanham
[South Carolina soundscape]
This is BirdNote. I'm J. Drew Lanham, an ornithologist, naturalist and writer, and this is a note I've written to a bird I love.
[Pileated Woodpecker drumming]
Dear Pileated Woodpecker,
First off, do you prefer a long "i" or short? Just wanna make sure I start off right. Personally, I go for the pill-ee-ated pronounciation and not the pile - ee- ated one. Potato/ puhtahto right? Speaking of names, been wondering what you think of all the Lord God Bird stuff, people mistaking you for the long-lost Ivory-billed Woodpecker? I mean, after all, that huge ivory bill used to give you guys a run for your biggest pecker money back in the day. Yeah, I know, the difference is obvious. But trust me, I know what it's like for someone to see big and black and fall to assumption. Exhausting, ain't it?
[Pileated Woodpecker call]
Anyway, just wanted you to know I appreciate all that mistaken identity nonsense you put up with. And it’s pretty awesome the way your calls make even the suburban woodlot seem like faraway wildness. I really don't like the whole "hen of the woods " name some folks gave you way back when, but I'll let you choose the best name for you.
[Pileated Woodpecker call]
Hoping the hammering headaches aren't too bad and the profiling doesn't cost you your own identity.
[Pileated Woodpecker drumming]
All Best,
Drew
###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Yellow Warbler ML554025311 recorded by Kevin Kubach, Pileated Woodpecker ML63085 recorded by Dave Herr, and Pileated Woodpecker ML218788471 recorded by Wil Hershberger.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote October 2023
Narrator: J. Drew Lanham
ID# letter-PIWO-01-2023-10-06 letter-PIWO-01
J. Drew Lanham
Writer NarratorSights & Sounds
