[texbirds] Re: A tale of two woodpeckers (long, not for listers or chasers)
- From: Clay Taylor <Clay.Taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx" <Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:49:22 -0500
Fred et all -
Back in the Northeast, Downey Woodpeckers were quite frequently found pecking
at goldenrod (solidago) galls, especially in wintertime. They would be out
in fields, perching a foot off the ground, hacking away at the tough fibers of
the galls.
I not surprised to hear that L-bs do it too, but now I will have to watch for
it.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 22, 2013, at 2:41 PM, "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)"
<Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 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. Thes
> e 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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