Okefenokee Swamp Melantistic Pileated Woodpecker on iNaturalist

Okefenokee Photography by William Wise. A nature photo journal exploration of Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, the Land of Trembling Earth, one of the largest blackwater swamps in North America. The alligators, birds, snakes and wildlife of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Stephen C Foster State Park. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message

Pileated Woodpecker, Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. March 5, 2017. ©www.williamwisephoto.com. Please don’t steal my images. Download and use legally from Dreamstime.com.

Going through some older Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge posts, I found this unique observation from April 12, 2010 by iNaturalist member Marv Elliott: a melanistic Pileated Woodpecker (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/538467).

Contacting Marv about his observation, he replied: “My wife (Susan) and I are birders and Naturalists. We were driving the main road, saw the pileated and knew it looked different. We parked, looked through binoculars and knew we needed a picture. I kept trying to get a good view and the bird kept moving. I followed for a while being a bit uncomfortable walking through grassy habitat favored by poisonous creatures (we are from the north) and finally got the picture. It then flew way off so that is my best effort. This is why we like INat. We do what we love and it gives us a purpose. We can share our sightings. Marv Elliiott”

Melanistic Pileated Woodpecker in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge by Marv Elliott on April 12, 2010. Used by permission.

Marv also posted an interesting link to a 1965 Wilson Bulletin about a melanistic Pileated Woodpecker at Okefenokee in 1917:

“A melanistic Pileated Woodpecker specimen from Georgia. — While arranging specimens of Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) in the U.S. National Museum, I found an almost entirely black female… This specimen (USNM No. 268901) was collected 2 November 1917 in the Okefinokee Swamp of Georgia by Harrison Lee… The specimens’ underparts lack any indication of the white feather edges often noted in Pileated Woodpeckers. The white wing patches, characteristic of that species, are entirely lacking, and white is visible only on the underside of the wings… The head and neck lack the striking white marks so characteristic of the Pileated Woodpecker.”

Thanks to Marv for posting this great observation and for being a lover of the Okefenokee!