Woodpeckers are a fascinating family. They bang away at trees with their beaks, without knocking themselves silly. They excavate nest holes, which later become homes for other birds and small mammals, making them a keystone species. There are 22 species of woodpeckers in the US and Canada. I have seen 21 of them. Here, I share my favourites.
- The Acorn Woodpecker is found in the Western US. This clown-faced woodpecker lives in colonies. They feed on acorns, harvesting them and storing them in holes in dead trees. Although, I have seen these impressive granaries in telephone poles, too.
Red-headed Woodpecker
2. The Red-headed Woodpecker is an elegant bird. It is arrayed in red, white and black, with big, white wing patches. They are hard to find in Toronto and a rare treat to see.
Lewis’s Woodpecker
3. The colouring of the Lewis’s Woodpecker is unusual for a North American woodpecker, because most have some combination of red, black and white. They have an oily-green back, red face, pink belly, and silver-gray collar. Their feeding habits are unusual for a woodpecker, too. They fly out and hawk for insects.
White-headed Woodpecker, male
4. I saw my lifer White-headed Woodpecker in the San Diego, California area. Our guide had taken us to a likely spot. My husband asked what the bird looked like. When the guide described it, my husband then asked if it was that bird on a nearby tree. He had found a female, who was feeding her fledgling.
5. The Red-bellied Woodpecker (a male is pictured at the top of this article) used to be rare in Southern Ontario. Now, it is found in nearly every ravine and park, due to global warming. They nest in our nearby park.
6. The Downy Woodpecker is a cute, little bird. They can become quite tame and will land on your hand, to accept seeds.
7. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a rare bird, found in the Southeastern US. Local birders helped us find it in SW Florida. You must be near their roost tree, early in the morning or late in the day. Once they leave it in the morning, they will roam through their territory.
Arizona Woodpecker, male
8. The Arizona Woodpecker is a brown woodpecker. It can be found in southern Arizona, near the Mexican border.
Northern Flicker, male
9. The Northern Flicker is a bird with too many field marks. Our flicker in the east, which is the yellow-shafted form, has a black collar, spotted breast, yellow colour in the feather shafts of its wings, and a white rump. This woodpecker confuses many new birders. Like many other woodpeckers, they like to drum on houses or on their metal siding. We once had a flicker drumming on our roof. It sounded like a construction zone’s pile driver.
10. The Pileated Woodpecker is our biggest woodpecker. Our daughter saw one fly by and said she thought it was a pterodactyl. I have watched a Pileated work on a tree. It sounded like someone was using a hatchet.
Next time you are walking in the woods, listen for the sound of knocking and you’ll surely find a woodpecker.
Note: Pictures of Red-bellied Woodpecker, Red-headed Woodpecker and Northern Flicker are from Pexels.com, an online source of copyright-free photos. The following photos are from Wikipedia Commons, an online source of copyright-free photos: Lewis’s Woodpecker (wackybadger, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons); White-headed Woodpecker (United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons); Arizona Woodpecker (www.naturespicsonline.com, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
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