February Feathers

My early morning visit to the park today was highly successful as I caught a rare glimpse of not just one, but two Great Horned Owls roosted together in the same tree. My initial sighting of just one large bird was enough to lure me off the paved trail into the snowy woods. As I got closer I noticed two distinctively large shapes perched somewhat near each other. I trudged through the deep, crusty snow and as I got closer, the noise was enough spook one of them to select a completely different tree. At this point I figured my chances for two Owls in the same shot were ruined but I continued on in hopes of catching a decent photo of just one. Over the next 20 minutes or so, the two of them each switched roosts again and again but gradually settled together even closer than the first time I spotted them. At this point I was finally close enough for some photos and was excited as heck to capture them both in the same picture! After snapping a few pics of them together, the bottom bird decided I was too close for comfort again and took off. As I was straining my head skyward, another peculiar large bird caught my eye and rested on a tall dead tree. It's sheer size and bright red feathers on it's head made me realize I could probably add a new species of bird to my list of wildlife seen in the park. I immediately came to realize that a Pileated Woodpecker sounds more like a jackhammer than a normal woodpecker as it started searching for food.
I've heard this sound before from far away but never appreciated just how loud and thunderous it is.