Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Goshawk at Moraine View State Park

Last year, I would have said that in McLean County, IL, your chances of seeing a Pileated Woodpecker are not much better than your chances of seeing an Ivory-billed, but perhaps this is not true anymore. Until recently, the only sightings I had heard of were all at Funks Grove, but several of my friends had looked for Pileated there and come up short. Angela Funk reported a sighting at Funks Grove last year, and the bird was also thought to be heard on Spring bird count. Finding a Pileated at Funks seems to be a matter of luck.

In the Summer of 2011, I was talking to Mary at the visitor's center at Moraine View State Park, and she showed me a photo of a Pileated Woodpecker that a visitor had taken in April--a Pileated in McLean County located somewhere other than Funks! I checked out the area where the bird had been seen, but to no avail. Then in December, Angelo Capparella and Given Harper heard a Pileated calling from 800 Rd. on the South edge of Moraine during a raptor survey. The bird was calling near Area 7 of the park. Les Allen needed this bird for his 2011 McLean County Big Year, and I needed Pileated as a state bird so we went looking for it in December, but came up short the first time. The next time, we went with Angelo on December 31st. We had not been out of the car but for a few minutes when we heard the bird calling and then saw a pair of them land in the trees in front of us and then fly across the trail, not far from the Area 7 parking space. Unfortunately, the light was bad, and I was too amazed to take a photo. I posted a map to the location below.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=p&z=13&q=40.399406,-88.72402&ll=40.399406,-88.72402

I wanted to relocate these birds this year, hoping to document them with a photo, but I was delayed in January by pheasant and squirrel season. On February 19, however, I was able to return and relocated the Pileated pair. I started out hiking the trail that ran Northeast of the small Area 7 parking area. I got lost on the trail and did not see or hear either of the birds. When I finally made my way back to the car, I head them calling West of the parking area. There is a trail that runs West of the parking area, but I did not know this and started out bushwacking, until I eventually ended up on the trail. This made sense. When we had seen the birds in December, they had flown in from the West and then headed Northeast. By following their calls, I finally caught up with the pair and photographed one of them as it was heading back to the East. The photo I took is at the top of this post. A couple of days later, Matt Fraker, went to find them and added Pileated to his McLean County list. He found them hiking the trail running Northeast. As Fraker said, these birds seem much more reliable than the ones at Funks Grove. So if you need Pileated Woodpecker in McLean County, Moraine View State Park might be your best shot. I recommend hiking all directions from Area 7 until you find them. These birds move around a lot. They have quite a range, but they are in those woods.

I also had Tufted Titmouse and Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers during my hike. I missed Northern Flicker, but I had that bird at Moraine View earlier this year. Of course it was a little early for Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, but if you go in April, you might be able to see five out of the six woodpeckers that we have in McLean County. I have never seen a Red-headed Woodpecker there, and the habitat does not seem right for it there. Also, you have a good chance of seeing Barred Owl in Area 7, and Les and Angelo had Great Horned there as well.

Before I headed home, I drove into the park, and to the East of 900 Rd., I saw this Northern Goshawk, which was ABA #278, IL #226, and McLean County #211 for me.





Written and published on March 10, 2012