Another Sexy Redhead
By Mike • April 1, 2007 • 13 commentsAbout a month ago, I was singing the praises of some ravishing redheads I ran into on Long Island. Those fine specimens showed rich auburn, the color one usually means when describing heads of red. Well, I just met a redhead flashing a shade of crimson found only in a bottle or, better yet, on a bird.
A Red-headed Woodpecker has bravely weathered winter in the reckless wilderness of New York’s Upper West Side. With every week that passed, reports described how the young male’s plumage was coming in, attaining a deeper and more complete scarlet aspect. While I’ve been too busy chasing other rarities around, I finally reached the point where disinterest in this particular piciform was inexplicable. After all, I’d never seen a Red-headed Woodpecker before. While Melanerpes erythrocephalus may be found throughout most of the eastern United States, it is fairly uncommon, if not downright rare, in the New York area. The closest I’ve ever gotten to spotting one of these birds has been the New Jersey license plate (false advertising, if you ask me!) Yet here was one hanging around less than 10 miles from my home. A Friday lunchtime excursion was planned to rectify this glaring omission.
I arrived at 92nd St and Riverside Drive in no time at all and began a surprisingly short vigil. After no more than a minute, a very kind woman came over to ask me if I’d seen it yet. She explained that I was fortuitously standing right in front of the woodpecker’s preferred perch, adding that she’d seen the bird yesterday. There we chatted about the likelihood of this twitch turning out well when, speak of the devil, a diabolically handsome woodpecker with a devil-red head flew to the tree right before us. The Riverside Drive Red-headed Woodpecker had arrived!
Red-headed Woodpecker
The Red-headed Woodpecker is a boldly colored bird, painted broadly in the black, white, and red borne by most woodpeckers. The adult’s simple scheme adopts searing scarlet from the neck up, pure snow on its underbelly, underwing, and rump, and deep black everywhere else. This bird’s dome seemed on the vinaceous side, but still brilliant in its vivid coloration. He offered me just about every look a bird watcher could want, flitting from tree to tree, moving from light to shadow, and even going after an upstart Red-bellied Woodpecker. Every avian should be as accommodating! New York Metro birders interested in quality looks at a quality bird should run, not walk to Riverside Park. I observed the woodpecker expeditiously excavating a hole as if he was going to stay a while, but the local European Starlings may have other plans…
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They’re great looking birds, aren’t they!
Not fair, picking on NJ, as we do have them, although they’re very local. Rather than running up to the Great Swamp where they’re pretty reliable, I waited for one to show up closer to home at Allaiire State Park a few Springs ago. They’re also pretty reliable down in South Jersey at Batsto. Once you learn the type of habitat they like - fairly open, oak woods, it’s easy to imagine that they should be everywhere.
Glad you took the time to find one closer to home. Maybe he’ll stay!
I think I have seen them at the Great Swamp in NJ, at the heronry overlook. That was back in 2005. My best sightings have been around here, though I find that they do not like the District all that much. Maybe city life is not all that appealing to them.
Interesting that this bird was excavating a hole. I wonder if it plans on staying.
To my knowledge, red-headed woodpeckers are sexually monomorphic, so it could be either a male or a female, unless you have reason to think otherwise.
Laura, I apologize if I offend. For once, my swipe at Jersey was unwarranted! I’m still sore because I took an unsuccessful run at the Ridgewood Red-headed Woodpecker in February. It’s good to know that they are reliable at the Great Swamp, though I’ve never had much luck there.
John, I believe excavation is a male behavior.
Hmmm… now I can’t decide whether to color my hair to resemble a RHWO or a VEFL…
No offense - just doing my duty.
[…] For better pictures and another tale of this same bird go see Mike’s post. And what was I doing in Brooklyn before my woodpecker adventure? Come back tomorrow to find out! […]
They aren’t as reliable at the Great Swamp as they used to be. They used to be there just about every year. We’ve gone dry two years in a row now. The heronry overlook, or what might now be an officially abandoned heronry, is the best spot. I think the NJ plate is false advertising. RHWP’s breed in NJ in minute numbers, but they should have made something else the face of conservation. Maybe a Piping Plover? I guess the PP doesn’t have the pizazz of a RHWP.
[…] However, this one has apparently designed it lights luxurious living on the Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and has been regularly reported since late last year. It’s a young male, and when it first appeared it didn’t look very red-headed at all. However its adult plumage has now come in, and it’s gorgeous. Yesterday, it couldn’t have been more cooperative. I was walking down from 108th Street along the park and just as I got to 93rd street, the bird called loudly, flew in, and landed in a tree almost on top of me, thus completing my first ever six woodpecker day. […]
[…] For better pictures and another tale of this same bird go see Mike’s post. And what was I doing in Brooklyn before my woodpecker adventure? Come back tomorrow to find out! […]
[…] Of the 55 posts we published this month, the most popular was definitely the I and the Bird edition, edging out that perennial favorite of perverts everywhere, Another Sexy Redhead. Corey’s missives about his Yellow-headed Blackbird and New York’s Western Reef Heron also enjoyed their due popularity. Web searchers still show a healthy interest in information about mockingbirds and seahawks as well as mallards both manky and hybrid. […]
[…] August 2007 introduced a new records in both visits and page views on 10,000 Birds. The most popular single post continues to be Another Sexy Redhead so the growing success of Corey’s calculated attempt to capitalize on the obliviousness of salacious web surfers, the deer post titled Buck Naked, is hardly surprising. Seahawks still arouse great curiosity in the public mind, as do mockingbirds and manky mallards. Also attracting a healthy amount of interest this month were my post on whether it was OK to touch a baby bird out of its nest and Corey’s quest for cranes, coots, and more. […]
[…] September 2007 saw new highs in visits and page views on the site. The most popular single post continues to be Another Sexy Redhead, but now that football season is here, seahawks are gaining considerable ground; I’m sure this provides some sort of insight into the male mind. Duck jokes, mockingbirds, milkweed, and manky mallards also remain hot search topics. The posts from September that attracted the most interest were Corey’s two quizzes, my hawkwatch piece, and Charlie’s memoriam to Martha. […]
[…] • August 20, 2007 • 3 comments I used the title of this post to see if I could emulate Mike and bring disappointed perverts to the pages of 10,000 Birds. Not that it is a dishonest title at […]