Thursday, January 14, 2010

Woodpecker Profiles



In Indiana there are 7 species of woodpeckers that call our area home, at least for a few months of the year.
Of course the biggest of which is the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), being 15 to 19 inches tall, with a wing span of 26 to 29 inches, there is no mistaking the Pileated. Pileated's primarily feed on insects, fruits and nuts.

Pileated Woodpecker

Next on the list coming in at 11 to 12.5 inches tall with a wing span of 16.5 to 20 inches, is the colorful Northern Flicker. Primarily an insectavore, the Northern Flicker can be seen "hunting for ants, beetles, and larvae of insects on the ground, and they are not at all opposed to taking butterflies and moths as well. In winter months they will eat nuts and berries. The best places to look for Northern Flickers are on the edge of woods, in feilds close to woodlands, or around wetlands.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes Auratus)

Coming in next at about 9.5 inches in height and wingspan of 13 to 16 inches is the sleek Red-Bellied Woodpecker. It distinctive black and white barring across its back and and it bright red cap, YOu can primarily find these guys in woodlands, wetlands, and neighborhoods that have a lot of trees. Red-Bellies feed, like other woodpeckers, mostly on insects, nuts and berries, but they have been known to eat small lizards and even minnows if they can catch them.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes Carolinus)

Next is a Woodpecker whose status is considered near threatened, its the Red-Headed Woodpecker, a little smaller than the Red-Bellied, and more reclusive, the Red-Headed Woodpecker can easily be distinquished from the Red-Bellied by its solid red head, and solid black balck with white patches visible on its lower wings, and bright white belly. Red-Headed Woodpeckers are considered omnivores and will eat insects, eggs, baby birds, mice, and nuts and fruit. It is one of only 4 woodpeckers that are known to cover their stored food. Insects that it stores are kept alive, but are wedged into crevices in wood so tightly they can not escape. Also red-heaed woodpeckers are very territorial and will attack other birds in it territory, even go as far as to attack nests and break the eggs with it beak!

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

The next two species of Woodpecker here in our area would be the Hairy Woodpecker followed by the Downy Woodpecker.

Hairy Woodpeckers are 7 to 10 inches tall with a wingspan of 13 to 16 inches. The Hairy is primarily an insect eater and forages through bark to fnd the bugs that it finds tastey. They are not opposed to hanging around areas where Pileated Woodpeckers forage, and once the Pileated has done the hard work of digging open a tree, and has flown off, the Hairy woodpecker will fly in and search for insect the Pileated left behind.

Female Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

Hairy Woodpecker Female (Picoides Villosus)

The Downy Woodpecker is a familiar sight to pretty much anyone who puts out suet feeders in our area. Measuring between 5.5 and 6.5 inches tall and with a wingspan of 9.5 to 11.5 inches, Downy's will readily mix in with other flocks of feeding birds, taking advantage of the idea of safety in numbers. They are also primarily insect eaters, but get about 25% of their diet from nuts, berries, and seeds., you may also find them from time to time taking a sip form a hummingbird feeder.


Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Lat but definately not least is more of a seasonal visitor than it is a resident of the woodpecker family to our area, its the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (no its not just an insult in bugs bunny cartoons) measuring between 7 and 8.5 inches tall with a wingspan of 13 to 16 inches, this sap-sucker is a winter visitor in our area. These guys are the only Woodpecker in eastern America that is totally migratory. And yes, they eat tree sap, along with insects and fruit. the will peck out a "well" in a live tree and maintain it so it fills with sugary sap to feed on.


Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus Various)

Even with as large as some of our local species of woodpeckers can become, they can still find themselves on the dinner menus of our resident birds of prey, such as this misfortunate Northern Flicker that ended up on the wrong side of a Coopers Hawk:

Unfortunate Ending for a Northern Flicker

Saturday, January 9, 2010

How many different species of birds could I get in about 2 hours...

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Northern Cardinal

Carolina Wren


House Sparrow


Ring-Billed Gull


American Kestrel


Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Coopers Hawk

Pileated Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Woodpeckers were definately the order of the day. I had spend years trying to get a good pileated picture, and a got more today, followed by the Sapsucker, which I had only seen maybe three times in my life. Too bad I didnt get a redhead or red-bellied to boot!
Of course I omitted posting things like European Starlings, Mallards, Canada Geese, Robins, Etc. And about the only reason I posted the house sparrow is he was just that damn cute!










Friday, January 8, 2010

Doing Very Well....







Healthy, strong and majestic! Right here on the shores of the Ohio River



Monday, January 4, 2010

Things are not often what they seem....

There was some concern regarding this beautiful young red-shouldered hawk, it would appear that he had an injury, birth defect, or parasite on his chest. if you look at the photos you can clearly see a protrusion in the center of his chest.

Coupled with the fact that he exhibited rather un-raptorly behavior ( such as flying up and landing right next to a photographer, and started "calling" to the photographer) No matter how close I got to him, he would not spook or fly away, he just stared with increasing curiosity.
(of course he could have been thinking "how am I going to go about attacking and eating this big old thing")

The photos were posted and passed around trying to figure out what could be wrong with this little guy, and a few people went half insane trying to figure it out, if he was hurt, he needed to be captured and taken to a raptor rehabilitor.

But it turns out the joke was on us, and the hawk was just fine!

The protrusion in his chest, is nothing other than his right foot!!! Young Red-Shouldered Hawks will draw their foot and leg up into their warm feathers when it is very cold outside, and switch which foot is exposed to the cold air!

Now, I have seen this behavior exhibited in all manners of Cranes and Herons, ducks and geese, and of course Flamingo's (since we have such an abundance of those around here), however I had never witnessed such behavior in a raptor. I had seen them squat down in the could to cover their feet, but never do a leg lift and tuck!

So thanks to those who helped to slove this little mystery!






Saturday, January 2, 2010