Virginia Winter Birds: Three Woodpeckers
January 22nd, 2011
Three of the seven species of woodpeckers I saw on this trip:
1. Red-Bellied Woodpecker
This is the single most common woodpecker in Virginia--at least judging by my experience. And I see them as often in the suburbs as in deep woods. Their call is a hoarse rattle that carries far and wide.
You can see a hint of this bird's eponymous feature in the first picture. I think it would be better named "Neon Woodpecker" though--the color of its red cap is of such a hue and brightness that it looks fluorescent to me.
2. Red-Headed Woodpecker
The Red-Headed Woodpecker is less common and is considered threatened in some areas. I rarely see them in the suburbs, but Pocahontas Park is a good place to find them, especially in winter. They love the tall mature trees there. Their habit of staying way up in said tall trees makes them tricky to photograph.
Like the previous species, this one is quite rare in Ottawa (we're at the northern tip of its range), but we do have one known breeding pair at Constance Bay.
3. Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
I've had several people tell me that they thought the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker was a "joke" bird--a funny name that someone made up. (Says one website, "it sounds like an insult Yosemite Sam might sling at Bugs Bunny.") It's a real bird, and it really has a yellow belly (yellow-ish anyway), and it really eats sap. It's a type of woodpecker that uses its chisel bill to drill rows of small holes in trees, then it licks up the sap that wells out. The pictured bird is a female; males have a bright red chin in addition to the red crown.
Sapsuckers are skilled at getting sap to flow abundantly. (It's not as easy as it may sound.) And their skills are important to other birds too. Hummingbirds are attracted to sapsucker holes. They lick up the sweet sap for food to tide them over until the flowers start blooming.
Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers are considered common breeders in our area, but I usually only see them in migration--they don't breed in central, easily-accessible places like Mud Lake. I expect the Gatineau is a good place to find them in summer. In Virginia in winter, though, they are downright suburbanites: I even saw one in the holly tree in my parents' front yard.
January 22nd, 2011
Three of the seven species of woodpeckers I saw on this trip:
1. Red-Bellied Woodpecker
This is the single most common woodpecker in Virginia--at least judging by my experience. And I see them as often in the suburbs as in deep woods. Their call is a hoarse rattle that carries far and wide.
You can see a hint of this bird's eponymous feature in the first picture. I think it would be better named "Neon Woodpecker" though--the color of its red cap is of such a hue and brightness that it looks fluorescent to me.
2. Red-Headed Woodpecker
The Red-Headed Woodpecker is less common and is considered threatened in some areas. I rarely see them in the suburbs, but Pocahontas Park is a good place to find them, especially in winter. They love the tall mature trees there. Their habit of staying way up in said tall trees makes them tricky to photograph.
Like the previous species, this one is quite rare in Ottawa (we're at the northern tip of its range), but we do have one known breeding pair at Constance Bay.
3. Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
I've had several people tell me that they thought the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker was a "joke" bird--a funny name that someone made up. (Says one website, "it sounds like an insult Yosemite Sam might sling at Bugs Bunny.") It's a real bird, and it really has a yellow belly (yellow-ish anyway), and it really eats sap. It's a type of woodpecker that uses its chisel bill to drill rows of small holes in trees, then it licks up the sap that wells out. The pictured bird is a female; males have a bright red chin in addition to the red crown.
Sapsuckers are skilled at getting sap to flow abundantly. (It's not as easy as it may sound.) And their skills are important to other birds too. Hummingbirds are attracted to sapsucker holes. They lick up the sweet sap for food to tide them over until the flowers start blooming.
Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers are considered common breeders in our area, but I usually only see them in migration--they don't breed in central, easily-accessible places like Mud Lake. I expect the Gatineau is a good place to find them in summer. In Virginia in winter, though, they are downright suburbanites: I even saw one in the holly tree in my parents' front yard.
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gabriel_le
January 22nd, 2011 at 8:43 pm
these birds are gorgeous!!
Mike
January 23rd, 2011 at 12:44 pm
Very nice shots, and neat to see the variety in woodpecker types!
Kevin
April 29th, 2017 at 12:04 pm
I agree with you on the Red Bellied Woodpecker. Beautiful bright red cap. Have a pair in my back yard, in a tree, where they hollowed out their home. Love the sound when they call on one another.