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Forest's Benefaction - Pileated Woodpeckers

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Description

A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers work over a hemlock snag, looking for delicious snacks.

I suspect I spent almost as much time researching this painting as I did working on it! As this was painted as an entry for a habitat competition in Oregon (didn't win), I made sure to research and make sure that the species of moss, fern, and lichen could all appear in this habitat, location, and dead tree species. That's harder than it sounds when you are over 2,500 miles away! Fortunately I had some photo references of moss as a starting point from my trip there in 2011.

I am fortunate enough to have a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers that use 'my' woods as part of their home range, and have no shortage of 'woodpecker trees' as reference out back! They are amazing and large woodpeckers, and are very important to their habitat. They create nesting holes for a huge number of other bird species, as well as many small mammals, insects, and even some amphibians. They also aid greatly in the process of turning dead wood into loamy, fertile forest soils.

16" x 20", Acrylic on board
Image size
600x742px 99.39 KB
© 2012 - 2024 Nambroth
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mantisngo2468's avatar

Isn't That Beautiful?