![]() Every time a Pileated Woodpecker flies from my box elder tree, a downy appears within a couple of minutes. This is a well-documented association which I’ve witnessed in my own neighborhood. When Pileated Woodpeckers are near, Downy Woodpeckers very often follow them, taking advantage of the larger excavations pileateds make to pick out the smaller insects the pileateds didn’t notice or bother with. They spend a lot of time feeding on goldenrod galls, too. To minimize competition for food, males tend to forage on small branches while females feed on larger branches and tree trunks, but that’s a statistical comparison-individual birds often break those statistical rules just for a lark. And males and females often stay in the same territory. ![]() Downy Woodpeckers have proportionally shorter, more conical beaks.ĭowny Woodpeckers feed on insects on and in the crevices of tree bark. Just remember that Hairy Woodpeckers have long beaks-about as long as their heads. When you’re used to seeing both species at your feeders, it’s easy to tell them apart by size, but in the woods, size becomes trickier. Indeed, looking at bill size is the simplest way to distinguish Downy Woodpeckers from their larger but otherwise very similar relatives, Hairy Woodpeckers. These handsome little black-and-white birds usually behave as we’d expect woodpeckers to, hitching their way up tree trunks and branches, yet their bills are as dainty as those of orioles or blackbirds. John James Audubon wrote of the species in 1840, “It seems to accommodate itself to circumstances, and to live contented everywhere.” Downies are one of the more adaptable species, being found everywhere in the lower 48 states except the most arid parts of the southwest, and through most of Canada into southern Alaska. ![]() Like their brethren, Downy Woodpeckers are putting on fat and feathers, and taking another important step in their winter preparations-making sure they each have a snug tree cavity to sleep in on those long winter nights, and to hide out in during the harshest weather. Again, good nutrition helps birds grow all this new tissue.Īs we look at our feeders, teeming with migrants and winter residents, one of my favorite visitors is the littlest woodpecker of all. Birds sport about 11 percent more feathers in winter than in summer. Our feeders can help now and through the winter when we provide black oil sunflower seeds, white millet for ground feeders such as doves and White-throated Sparrows, and suet.īirds are also putting on additional feathers to thicken their insulation. They feast on autumnal abundance, putting on a layer of fat that, with luck, will help tide them over through blizzards and the fiercest cold snaps. Right now, birds that will remain in the northland all winter are preparing for winter. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |