Crow’s Nest: Pileated woodpecker on eastern cottonwood

This pileated woodpecker I photographed first from our bathroom window. Then I had to get closer (I don’t have a long zoom lens).

It is tearing into an Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) at the edge of the woods. The damage (not shown) will become significant, but since the woodpecker is going after insects, the woodpecker’s work is likely letting us know that there is already some insect damage inside. If other cottonwood trees here are a guide, this one will hang on for many years while it is being chipped away.