My Nemesis Bird; What Is Yours?

The Pileated has always been my nemesis bird. You know the one bird that although they do live in your area, you can never seem to get a nice clean shot of one. Today I came very close to mine and this was in my own yard. I was raking leaves and I saw him fly high up into a maple tree and then he hopped over to an adjacent dead tree and started pecking away. The angle was steep and there were lots of branches and leaves obscuring a great shot but I managed to get two decent ones. The Pileated is a very skittish bird and I was lucky to even get as close as I did. Anyways, below are two of the shots I managed. What bird is your nemeis?

Second one is really nice, nice light. Too bad the branches were there.

Congratulations. It is interesting what you say. I think sometimes pileateds can be skittish, but overall I have not found them so, nor do I find other woodpeckers other than flickers. I've gotten hundreds of shots of them while standing in full view and close range, i.e. - 30 feet. But if they are in your neighborhood, watch for them about in February; they seem to go nuts about then with their calling and drumming. Good luck.
Al

There's a yellow-bellied sapsucker that lives down the road. This is the best shot I've been able to get of it, despite months of trying.

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That second shot is great! Finally managed to photograph a female Pileated last winter at Eagle Lakes Park. They are hard to find. Bald Eagles are probably my nemesis. They're plenty of them around here, but they're always far away. Ditto for Stilts. (Wish I could afford a 600L!)

Love your second shot, Paul. Do you have an iPad? Try loading IBird onto it and playing pileated calls out in your yard. You will be amazed how effective it is at calling them in. Now, what I need is an app to attract Kingfishers and slow them down slower than 100 mph.

For me it's a Western Blue Bird. I can never quite get a decent shot no matter what I do. Nice set Airedale!

Wallace River wrote in post #15140665
Love your second shot, Paul. Do you have an iPad? Try loading IBird onto it and playing pileated calls out in your yard. You will be amazed how effective it is at calling them in. Now, what I need is an app to attract Kingfishers and slow them down slower than 100 mph.

lol.

My nemesis is the steller's jay, got a somewhat decent shot while they were on the ground picking up nuts, but never on a tree. They always hide behind branches. I want to get a clean shot of this jay on a branch

Congrats nice work

Currently every bird is my nemesis. I cant get good pics of any. they are all hidding from me. Woody's are for sure one though.

Congrats Paul on your catch. Great shots number two especially great clarity, well done!

Northern Flicker is definitely my nemesis. I see them all the time but have had very little success getting pictures. They are really skittish and even though they come to my lawn and driveway almost daily at this time of year, I can never seem to get a clear shot.

Nice Shots

My answer is the same as Ian's. Belted King Fisher. I see them frequently but it's an extreme rarity to be able to get close to them.

Congrats on your captures. #2 is very nice.

OP: The second shot is better quality, but that first shot is DEAD on for going with the thread title; brilliant

It's a tie between the Pileated and the Belted Kingfisher for me.