[texbirds] A tale of two woodpeckers (long, not for listers or chasers)
- From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" <Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx>
- To: Texbirds <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2013 20:40:47 +0000
In the last couple of days I had two interesting encounters with two different
species of woodpeckers.
The first was on a TOS field trip on Saturday. We found a Ladder-back
Woodpecker in Waller County. Nothing unusual there but what the bird was doing
was novel to me. It was about 4 feet off the ground perched in a dead Gaura
flower stalk which was smaller than a pencil. It was pecking away as it might
do on a fence post. Now for those that do not know what a Gaura is, it is a
native prairie wildflower that grows in summer to 5-8 feet tall if allowed to
grow. It is extremely woody for an annual stalk on a perennial plant. It is
predated by an animal I do not know that causes the plant to produce a gall.
The galls thicken and often widen and flatten the stem making for some unusual
forms. The woodpecker was working on one of these galls. I would have never
thought those galls would have or could have been predated by a woodpecker. The
plants are so fine stemmed I was almost surprised they would hold the
woodpecker but the Ladder-back moved around the Gaura as if it was a sturdy
mesquite. I was very impressed and taken by the whole experience and
observation.
On Monday, I visited the Little Lake Trail Loop area in Sam Houston National
Forest on FM 149 north of Montgomery. There I had my closest encounter with a
Red-cockaded Woodpecker. At one point for a minute or two I was within 20-40
feet of one. I was struck by how similar the bird was in general appearance to
the Ladder-back of a couple of days ago. I was also fascinated how at one point
the woodpecker moved by a pine cone in my binocular view and the pinecone's
bleached scales and the dark shadow of the openings between them was virtually
identical to the pattern of the ladder-back of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker;
what marvelous camouflage. Then the bird moved to another tree and worked up
the trunk to a small limb and proceeded out the very small limb to its tip, all
the while upside down. Then it swung up top and worked back to the trunk and
proceeded up the tree. The use of the tiny terminal branches of this pine limb
reminded me again of the Ladder-back on the Gaura. These limbs seemed too small
to support the bird or prey yet the bird searched them diligently. Imagine just
how much space there is for a woodpecker to search in a single tree. I was able
to observe this individual for at least 10 minutes. I later observed this bird
or another fly from a pine to a smaller oak and utilize it as would any other
woodpecker searching and pecking at a gnarl on the trunk. This bird I also
observed working on the sap wells of a roost-hole tree. I would assume it is
the "owner" of that hole.
It was two great days of birding and two deposits in my memory bank that I will
likely remember until I die. I love birding!
Fred Collins
(281) 357-5324
Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center
Cypress Top Historical Park
Commissioner Steve Radack
Harris County Precinct 3
www.pct3.hctx.net<http://www.pct3.hctx.net>
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