Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Woodpeckers of The Vermilon River. A Post to World Bird Wednesday

Pilated Woodpecker Male



Pilated Woodpecker in Flight

Northern Flicker Female


Male Northern Flicker


Male Hairy Woodpecker

Female Hairy Woodpecker.
 This post was prompted by some European readers who remarked that the Hairy Woodpecker looked like one of theirs, a Spotted I think, and then asked if they came in a green colour. So I decided to put together a post that showed the woodpeckers of the Vermilon River. At least as far as the ones that I have photos of.

I've done the best I can with the quality of the Pileated Woodpecker photos who is the rarest of them all. He is probably the largest woodpecker of NA running to 47-49cm. and weighing 250-350 grams. When he hammers a tree you can hear him for quite a distance. Wikipedia reports that the Imperial and the Ivory-billed are as big but are likely extinct now. He overwinters with us although he is hard to find.

The Northern Flicker is a ground woodpecker that feeds on ants even using the formic acid to groom his feathers. The Male and female are identical except the male has a moustache which is obvious in the photos.The Flicker migrates with the advent of winter.

The male and female Hairy are identical except for the patch at the back of the males' head. They are bigger than the downy, but similar in appearance. I tell the difference by the size of the beak, not by the tail feathers or the size. The Downys are here but I have no photos of them. The hairy is more common in our forest of  because, I think, this forest with its heavy stands of birch and aspen is suited to them. Both the downy and hairy overwinter.

The Red-bellied woodpecker has been seen south and north of us, and I'm hoping to see him next year.

A Post to World Bird Wednesday at http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/
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54 comments:

  1. YoshiFebruary 8, 2011 at 8:11 AM

    Whenever I see that some species are going to extinct, I feel bad... I like the Hairy Woodpecker so much probably due to the cute red patch at the back. Men are beautiful in bird species!
    Thanks for sharing.

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  2. holdingmomentsFebruary 8, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    Lovely shots of your Woodpeckers Gary.
    And yes, your Hairy Woodpecker is very similar to our Great Spotted Woodpecker.

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  3. LouiseFebruary 8, 2011 at 9:18 AM

    Great catch on the Pilated Woodpecker. You were either very lucky, or have remarkable perseverance. Never seen one around here, though I have a Red-bellied Woodpecker who comes to my feeder.

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  4. Johnny NutcaseFebruary 8, 2011 at 10:27 AM

    Nice post and good info - but! The Ivory-billed is still around. I 'm a believer, for sure!
    Pileateds are hard to get photos of, that's for sure! I really like the flicker photos. :)

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  5. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2011 at 11:10 AM

    I've seen the (green) Picus more than the (spotted) Dendrocopos, and from the latter only the Great Spotted one visits our garden.
    Sounds like a gangly teenager with acne :-)
    I wonder why the word 'pilated' doesn't show in any of my dictionaries. I take it to mean something like piebald.
    joco

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  6. UnknownFebruary 8, 2011 at 11:27 AM

    Nice shots of the woodpecker, looks a lot like the one we have here in Norway.

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  7. theconstantwalkerFebruary 8, 2011 at 11:34 AM

    You have some beautiful woodpeckers in your woods Gary. Great images of some lovely birds.

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  8. mickFebruary 8, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    Great photos of the Woodpeckers and very interesting comparison of the ones you see.

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  9. Bob BushellFebruary 8, 2011 at 12:55 PM

    I really like the Northern Flicker, it is fantastic, but the others are too.

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  10. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    This is a great set of pictures!
    I love to watch the woodpeckers that visit our suet feeders. How lucky you are to have photographed the Pileated Woodpecker! I've only seen one once.

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  11. SondraFebruary 8, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    ITS a great flight shot of the pileated...they are very hard to get a good shot of--and I've yet to be in the right place at the right time to get a shot of the flicker--your shot is excellent!! We have the same line up of woodpeckers and we also have the yellow bellied sapsucker which is not as common as it once was around here-

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  12. SpringmanFebruary 8, 2011 at 3:12 PM

    Great post Gary! That second shot of the flicker is off the charts. Fantastic detail. A pileated in flight? That's next to impossible. Good show!

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  13. Adam TiltFebruary 8, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    Very nice shots of the various Woodpeckers Gary. Great to see how many different species of them there are.

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  14. Flo de SendaiFebruary 8, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    Lucky you, I'd love to see these birds in true !

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  15. ArijaFebruary 8, 2011 at 5:51 PM

    Your woodpeckers certainly are pecking away. Love the little Flicker.

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  16. Sally in WAFebruary 8, 2011 at 6:44 PM

    Nice shots and info on the woodpeckers, Gary. I like those flickers.

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  17. Mike B. @ slugyard.comFebruary 8, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    Good finds- I was lucky enough to get some good photos of a pileated about a month ago, but they don't make it easy.

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  18. Stewart MFebruary 9, 2011 at 12:12 AM

    Managed to see most of these birds on a trip to Ohio a few years ago - a friend of mine had pileated in his back garden!!!

    Good to see them again.

    Stewart M

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  19. Hilke BrederFebruary 9, 2011 at 3:53 AM

    You got a pretty nice photo of the Pileated Woodpecker. I am always startled by the big white page on their underwings when I happen to see one flying by (which is rare).

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  20. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:18 AM

    Hi Yoshi. Extinction is a scary word!!

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  21. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:19 AM

    Thanks Keith for the visit and comments.

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  22. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:20 AM

    Hi Louise. I'm hoping to have a Red-bellied soon!!

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  23. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:25 AM

    Hi Johnny. I sure hope you're right about the Ivory-billed.

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  24. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:27 AM

    I spelled it wrong. It's pileated woodpecker.

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  25. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:28 AM

    Hi Oyvind Buljo. Do you call it a Spotted?

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  26. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:29 AM

    Thanks Andrew. I saw the green one on your site I think.

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  27. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:30 AM

    Thanks Mick for the words and visit.

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  28. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:32 AM

    Bob, the Northern Flicker has a gold band on its wings and that's what you see when it flies off the ground to a tree. Its impressive.

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  29. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:34 AM

    Hi pattyler1. He is a beauty but I think the photos are not good; both he and I were disturbed when I was shooting him.

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  30. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:39 AM

    Hi Dixxe you're lucky to have the sap sucker. I'm hoping a red-bellied will move in here. The Flickers are common as the forest base is sand and makes for lots of ants.

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  31. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:40 AM

    Hi Springman. Have a grand holiday and thanks for the visit.

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  32. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:41 AM

    Hi Adam and thanks for the visit and good words.

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  33. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:46 AM

    Hi Flo and it is great just having them around.

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  34. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:47 AM

    Hi Arija. The Flickers are beauties aren't they?

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  35. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:49 AM

    Sally in WA. They are beauties in flight also although I've never caught one yet.

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  36. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:49 AM

    They are pretty rare Mike.

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  37. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:53 AM

    Hi Stewart. Thanks for the visit and kind words.

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  38. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 5:54 AM

    I know Hilke. I wish they were more common.

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  39. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 6:54 AM

    The most common Woodpecker in Norway is the Great Spotted Woodpecker, looks a lot like the Hairy Woodpecker in your photos. I've googled different woodpeckers, and it seems like the species of Europe doesn't exist in America, and the other way around. But some of them look a lot like their overseas relatives :) The Black Woodpecker is of the same size and shape as your Pileated Woodpecker, the only difference is some colors on the head. I guess it could be interesting to study the origin of these species...

    BR,
    Øyvind

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  40. Pat UlrichFebruary 9, 2011 at 6:58 AM

    Wonderful collection of woodpeckers. Getting to see a pileated in person is such a treat, they are amazing birds with their large size and that bright red crown. Nice shots of the flickers and hairies!

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  41. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:36 AM

    Hi Oyvind. In the post on Ravens, I pointed out that the European Raven crossed the Bering Land bridge, and evolved into two different clades in the southern US which are genetically different from the Northern Raven, although they look alike. Maybe woodpeckers also crossed and evolved.

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  42. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:37 AM

    Nice to see them Pat, but the photos are not good,so I'm disappointed.

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  43. Empty NesterFebruary 9, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    I have a Downy in my assortment this week...I decided he was a downy because of the beak. But I'm usually wrong. LOL I have a red-bellied woodpecker too...I really like the pilated woodpecker you got. I wouldn't swear to it but I don't think we have them down here.

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  44. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 11:33 AM

    Hi EmptyNester. He'd be my favourite if he posed for me a bit more.

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  45. DaveFebruary 9, 2011 at 12:13 PM

    Only the one Woodpecker in my Garden, and Only ever seen one more species..... the Green Woodpecker

    The rest of mainland Europe do much better for Woodies than us in the UK, Gary, I envy you with your nice asortment

    Cheers
    Dave

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  46. UnknownFebruary 9, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    And my assortment is going to improve with the addition of the Red-bellied. Thanks for the visit.

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  47. BeckyFebruary 9, 2011 at 6:28 PM

    Excellant group Gary. I see most of these here, but have yet to get a decent photograph of that elusive Pileated!.
    B.

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  48. UnknownFebruary 10, 2011 at 10:14 AM

    I share the feelings with Y.Ikeda... I love woodpeckers but the Northern Flicker is also beautiful. Great shots!

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  49. UnknownFebruary 10, 2011 at 10:45 AM

    Actually, JM, the Flicker is a ground based woodpecker that I'm fortunate to have.

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  50. UnknownFebruary 10, 2011 at 10:47 AM

    Hi B&G. Unfortunately my shots of the pileated are not good either, but I know roughly where he is, and there is all this coming year.

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  51. LarryFebruary 10, 2011 at 9:56 PM

    Nice shots of the woodpeckers Gary! I really like the Northern Flicker photo of the male showing the white rump that helps identify this species in flight.

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  52. UnknownFebruary 11, 2011 at 7:34 PM

    Woodpeckers are so fascinating!
    I love to see the variety you have at 'your' river :)
    And isn't it great to get the photos, even if they are not 'the' greatest?
    I always love to look at them for memories.
    Lovely post! You make me miss Europe even more now :)

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  53. UnknownFebruary 12, 2011 at 6:44 AM

    The N. Flickers are favourites of mine. Thanks for the visit Larry.

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  54. UnknownFebruary 12, 2011 at 6:45 AM

    To Nicole B. We'll cover the whole thing off by making you a citizen of the Vermilon River, so now they're yours too.

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