Pileated Woodpeckers at Devil’s Lake

Did you know that birders come from all over to try to see Pileated Woodpeckers at Devil’s Lake State Park? It’s a good choice as they are fairly common in the park and around the Baraboo Hills region. One easy-to-see sign of their existence is the large rectangular-shaped holes that they dig into dead trees while looking for insects. (AND the big piles of woodchips at the bottoms of those trees!)

Piliated Woodpeckers are BIG. In fact, they are the largest woodpeckers in North America. Well, that’s if you accept that the almost mystical Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is extinct. (That’s a crazy story.. check out the movie, “Ghost Bird”.). Pileated are near 20 inches long/tall with a wingspan of nearly 30 inches. That’s almost the length of a yardstick and one big woodpecker!

If you see a Pileated Woodpecker when you visit our area, count yourself lucky. There’s a lot of birders who would love to have that experience! And if you want to know more about birding in our area, we have some content to get you started – Birding & Wildlife in the Devil’s Lake Region

Learn More about Pileated Woodpeckers

• Pileated Woodpeckers at “All About Birds”
• Pileated Woodpeckers at “EEK Education for kids!”

Derrick Mayoleth

For nearly 2 decades the Skillet Creek blog has focused on 3 main goals; To inspire you to visit and explore the Devil’s Lake region, to help you get the most your visit by sharing tips, events, and other helpful information. Lastly to advocate for our environment & wildlife and talk about how we can keep our natural areas amazing now and into the future! That last goal can sometimes cause controversy, but it’s the only way we can accomplish the first two. – Derrick Mayoleth, Owner.