Feb. 16, 2014 - Acorn Woodpeckers

This dead tree, riddled with holes, looks like it should fall over any minute. But it’s actually very important to Acorn Woodpeckers as a place to store food. We saw several of these trees, known as granary trees, on our trip to Oregon and California. The woodpeckers make the holes and pound acorns into them. A tree like this will be used for many years and new holes will be added as necessary. This photo was taken in Pacific Grove, California.

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Here’s an Acorn Woodpecker seen in Big Sur, California. Birding field guide books almost always use the term “clown face” when describing this species. They do have a unique look and are unlikely to be mistaken for any other type of bird. I think it looks like they are wearing a bright red skull cap. At 9 inches long, they are about the size of a Hairy Woodpecker.

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This woodpecker, also seen in Big Sur, is picking an acorn before it’s even ripe. Notice the strip of black feathers on the forehead, separating the red cap from the white feathers above the bill. That indicates it’s a female.

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Here is a male Acorn Woodpecker. His red cap extends all the way down to meet the white feathers.

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In flight, you can see the white stripes on the wings and the white rump patch.

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This woodpecker is looking for just the right hole in the granary tree. The acorn needs to fit snugly into the hole so it won’t fall out. Notice that the acorn is still green; it will ripen while it’s stored in the hole. Sometimes an acorn will shrink as it ripens. If it gets too loose, the woodpecker will move it to a smaller hole.

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This woodpecker took an acorn to the top of a power pole. It apparently had a hole up there to hold the acorn while it cracked open the shell and then ate the nut.

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