Have you ever wondered what a Pileated Woodpecker tastes like? Me either! We live in a society where the consumption of non-game wildlife is typically frowned upon (when it isn’t outlawed), so the question never occurred to me.
Nevertheless, staff phenologist John Latimer stumbled across the answer this week. While consulting one of his bird books on a different matter, he found this testament to the Pileated Woodpecker’s (in)edibility; “Its flesh is tough of a bluish tint, and smells so strongly of the worms and insects on which it generally feeds as to be extremely unpalatable... I tried to eat one when short of meat traveling through the Blue Mountains of Oregon, but I certainly cannot recommend it. It feeds to a great extent on the large black wood ants, which impart to it a very peculiar and to me an extremely unpleasant flavor, a kind of sweet, sour taste, which any amount of seasoning and cooking does not disguise. I consider it a very unpalatable substitute for game of any kind.”
That’s the joy of research: you might not find the answer you were looking for, but you’ll learn something along the way.
This week’s Phenology Report also covers current ice conditions, hints of green to be found on the forest floor, and the arrival of migrating hawks and cranes. Listen in above!
Topics
- Introduction (0:00-0:24)
- Ice conditions (0:24-1:49)
- Goldthread (1:49-3:45)
- Wintergreen (3:45-4:33)
- Trailing arbutus (4:33-6:10)
- Strawberries, ferns and sedges (6:10-7:57)
- Juneberry buds (7:57-8:40)
- Speckled alder and hazel catkins (8:40-10:48)
- Mountain ash, aspens and willows (10:48-12:40)
- Bird feeder visitors (12:40-14:09)
- Robins (14:09-14:45)
- Migrating cranes and hawks (14:45-15:23)
- Bald Eagle nest (15:23-15:48)
- Northern Harriers and American Kestrels (15:48-16:24)
- Wild Turkeys displaying (16:24-16:44)
- Pileated Woodpeckers (16:44-19:36)
- Conclusion (19:36-21:08)
- Ice-out addendum (21:08-22:51)
What have you seen out there? Let us know: email us at comments@kaxe.org or text us at 218-326-1234.
That does it for this week! For more phenology, <b>subscribe</b> to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
