My story about attracting pileated woodpeckers to backyard birdfeeders (Attracting Big Bird) in the January 2022 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living magazine brought a flurry of responses from co-op members. Some people had questions, while others just wanted to share their own experiences with the giant woodpeckers and send me their photos. Unfortunately, there is not enough room here for all the responses, but below are three of the more interesting and informative ones.
An attitude is subtly changing in Ohio concerning a certain species of large, charismatic wildlife. In 1969, the Buckeye State had just four pairs of nesting bald eagles remaining, a struggling population on the verge of extirpation due to the indiscriminate use of the chemical DDT. But once that chemical was banned, the birds made a steady, startling comeback, and nesting pairs of bald eagles in the state now number near 1,000. But is it possible to have too much of a good thing, even in the case of our national symbol, the bald eagle? The following two “Ask Chip” questions this month show
