Dec. 22, 2013 - CBC Birds

The Christmas Bird Count (CBC), sponsored by National Audubon, is the longest running citizen science project in the world. It started in 1900, so this year is the 114th annual count. Participants form a team and go birding for one day within a pre-determined 15 mile diameter circle. They count every bird seen and their results are combined with those from about 2300 other circles across North America. The data collected over the life of the CBC has been invaluable in studying population trends in birds. Last Sunday I participated in the CBC in Grand Rapids, MN. Black-capped Chickadees were the most numerous birds in my territory.

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I was fortunate to find a spot with three Pileated Woodpeckers (one male and two females). This one has a black “moustache” so it’s a female; a male would have a red “moustache.”

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The woodpeckers provided a spectacular aerial display, flying back and forth across the road. The pattern of the white and black feathers reminds me of a piano keyboard.

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Here’s what a Pileated Woodpecker looks like from underneath. You can see the stiff tail feathers that the bird uses to steady itself when clinging to a tree.

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The flight pattern of a Pileated is to make one or more flaps with its powerful wings and then glide a short distance. I caught this bird in the glide phase.

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In the same area I found a Red-bellied Woodpecker. My photo shows that this bird is not misnamed; it actually does have red on its belly. Because the red feathers on the head go almost down to the bill, this is a male. A female would have red only on the back of the head, and from the top of her head to her bill she would have tan feathers.

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This photo makes me chuckle. He was sitting on a branch and I caught him just after he took off.

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