Trail Cam Mystery

Upon seeing this photo, our first thought was that a person wearing a red shirt was wandering in the woods just beyond the camera’s range. Except the distance and shape didn’t seem quite right. In the end, our best guess is that this is a Pileated Woodpecker.

A large woodpecker, the Pileated is between 15 and 19 inches in length- matching the size shown in the mystery photo. Not only that, the tree is also missing a lot of bark. Woodpeckers beat on trees, particularly dead trees with a lot of insects in order to find a meal.

It should be noted that this is just our best guess. Unless we collect additional footage, we cannot be 100% sure that this really is a Pileated Woodpecker. Do you agree with our theory? Let us know what you think!