Red Headed Woodpeckers

Should you follow my humble blog you know of my affinity for red headed woodpeckers. This weekend at the lake they were loud and raucous, flitting back and forth in their typical undulating flight through the tree canopy. High above our deck in a nearby tree RHW's have created a condominium in a dead branch having drilled out at least three nest holes.

Mom was busy in a particular part of the tree and I discovered why. She flew in carrying a huge bug in her beak and methodically dispatched the creature in a bowled out area of the tree. The bug was repeatedly pummeled by her deadly beak and ground up into a buggy stew.

For there's a baby to be fed.

She gently feeds her baby the buggy stew.

The baby waits for more. If you enlarge the photo you can see the baby's head is beginning to show some of the red coloration. These are really more RHW teenagers. They act like teenagers, that's for sure.

The impatient baby RHW goes to the bug bowl for leftovers.

Mom returns with another bug and I now see two babies!

There is a distinct pecking order among the babies. Enlarge and look at the top baby's face.

One is clearly dominate and the other moves aside to wait his turn.

The dominate baby RHW now looks crossly at mom, who is apparently not fast enough in making the buggy stew.

Last shot of feeding before I had to head indoors to feed my own family. We head back to the city tomorrow, but the red headed woodpeckers will remain in my soul.

RHW

I've been putting black oil sunflower seeds and fruit treats in a little tray for the birds, along with lots of water since we're in this dry spell. Mr. Red Headed Woodpecker is enjoying the bounty as much as rest of the birds. As you know, I have an affinity for RHW's. They are not nesting in the local tree cavity this year. We've also noticed that there are many more holes in the dead tree limb so maybe they don't care for that particular limb any longer. Last year Great Crested Flycatchers nested in the tree limb but this year nothing...not even the nasty Starlings are interested. So...I feed my favorites treats as a way to draw them in to me. Their spirit fills me up.

A Miracle

July 1st and the Red-Headed Woodpeckers are in abundance during late afternoon. Flying from tree to tree making all manner of raucous noises - if you've ever heard a RHW the call is unmistakable and loud.

I decided to take a few shots of the happy couple, who are back at work in the usual dead limb now that the Flycatchers have moved on. After just a few shots I forget all about them, go inside and prepare dinner. The weekend progressed, holiday parties ensued, visitors came and went and this morning I'm finally downloading the week's photos. Some are good, some are bad, some go here and some go there. I'm hoping for a few good RHW shots, maybe. There's only one of the mom and dad together so I open it in Photoshop on my good wide-screen monitor. Wait...there are more than two birds on that limb. Wait....OMG...it's the baby. By a miracle, I got the three together and didn't even know it until today.

Meet the Wheeler Lake Red-Headed Woodpecker family - dad, mom and junior.

The Sentry

A persistent Red-Headed Woodpecker bored a hole through a limb in our tree. The hole was so large that it weakened the limb which fell during a windstorm. We're thinking that wasn't his intentions. We're thinking he was just trying to create a home. He has created one, we think, and we always see his little red head sticking out from behind the branch. We can see him from our picture window. The broken branch, the red head and sharp beak always pointing in the same direction, like the photo above. This fellow, or gal, will chase squirrels and jays and any other bird away. I'm partial to the Red-Headed Woodpeckers. Yeah, yeah...they can wreak havoc among homeowners but there are safe methods available to discourage them from drilling holes in your house. They're raucous birds; very loud during their mating time, and any other time really. Their bright heads and stark black and white bodies stand out and just make me happy.
Maybe my love for these birds stem from growing up a Woody Woodpecker cartoon fan. I loved that silly bird. Seeing my first Red-Headed Woodpecker was sort of magical. One day it was a drawing in a book, an insolent cartoon character, the name of a drive-in burger joint, but the moment of my first sighting these beautiful birds became flesh and blood - a living creature.
Red-Headed Woodpeckers are on the Threatened list in Alabama. Like everywhere else, humans are encroaching deeper into their habitat and building more and more into natural areas because we want to live among the beauty of nature. (I can't think of a soul who wants to live by a landfill, do you?) Woodpeckers need dead and dying trees for their nests, and tend to create holes in trees - humans don't like that, but that's what woodpeckers do.
I'm not a woodpecker expert but I do appreciate their beauty and individual contributions to nature. We call our Red-Headed Woodpecker "The Sentry" because he's ever watchful, and always on guard. Perhaps we'll have little baby Red-Headed Woodpeckers this Spring. Stand by for any breaking RHW news...