Pileated Woodpecker Eating Hackberries

Pileated Woodpecker in a Hackberry Tree

We took the Prius out this morning to see how the wildlife along the Lower Chippewa River would react to the February thaw (temperatures in the 40's).   We were heading east into the coulees on Kings Highway in Maxville, Wisconsin when I spotted a commotion at the top of one of the leafless deciduous trees on the north side of the road.  At first I thought it was a crow.  Then I saw the signature red knot of feathers on the back of its head:  a Pileated Woodpecker.

She was floundering and flapping.  My first thought was:  was she tangled-up in fish line?

We pulled out our binoculars and watched.   She seemed to lose her footing.  Then she flapped her wings to maintain her balance.   What was going on?

After a minute or so, we were relieved to see her find stability on the tiny branches.  She looked okay.  But then she lost her balance again and started flapping.

That's when I noticed the tiny fruits hanging from the top branches.  This huge woodpecker was picking Hackberry fruits!  I've seen robins and waxwings feed on Hackberry fruits, but never a Pileated.

When I got home, I checked the Birds of North America monograph to see what else, aside from carpenter ants and beetle larvae, these birds eat.

Their diets change seasonally, but they eat carpenter ants year round.  They focus on fruit in the fall, carpenter ants in the winter, wood-boring beetle larvae in the spring and a broad selection of insects in the summer.

Insect surprises:  cockroaches, paper wasps, beetles and termites.

And the fruits... greenbriar (smilax), hackberry, sassafras, blackberries (rubus), poison ivy (!), dogwood and black gum.

They eat nuts and tree sap too.

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What other birds did we see in the Durand area?

A kestrel out on Marsh Road.

A dozen Horned Larks on Stai Coulee Road east of the potato shed.

Several Red-tailed Hawks, including a pair in their "regular" tree south of County V on State Road 25.

And several Bald Eagles flying, roosting and fishing.

At my feeders:  Tufted Titmouse, chickadees, 5 pairs of cardinals and dozens of juncos, tree sparrows and goldfinches.

Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers

After we checked the bluebird boxes in Maxville (9 eggs so far), we took the "scenic" route through the coulees along Kings Highway heading towards Durand.   At the little creek - about a mile from Stai Coulee Road - I spotted a woodpecker flying across the road.  I stopped, pulled out my binoculars and scanned the trees.  There it was - a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

I pulled out my iPod and thumbed my way through the playlists and clicked.  In seconds, I had the drum and call of this bird playing though the speakers of my Prius.  I watched as the bird alerted to the sounds coming from my car.  The bird looked, flew right at us and landed in a cedar to the right of us, then he flew over to the traffic sign by the creek.  He landed on the signpost, looked around and drummed on the metal sign.

He was joined almost immediately by a female.  We sat quietly and watched the two of them interact.

We first spotted Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers two weeks ago, over by the rifle range near Silver Birch County Park.  The only woodpecker in eastern North America that's completely migratory (some travel as far south as Panama), they have been spotted wintering in the Lower Chippewa River valley.  They're migrating through Wisconsin now - and we've been seeing them virtually everywhere.
 
According to scientists at the Boreal Songbird Initiative, more than 50% of the total population of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers breed in the Boreal Ecoregion of Canada and Alaska.   Throughout their breeding range, they choose early successional trees  - the aspens, birch and maples - for nesting.

                                                          Yellow-bellied Sapsucker breeding range

Studies indicate a positive population trend for this species in Wisconsin - primarily in the north woods and along river valleys.   

How can they survive on a diet of watery sap?

The sap these birds are after is different from the sap "from the tree's "xylem") we tap and boil to make maple syrup.  These avian sap-tappers go after the difficult-to-access and more nutritious sugar-laden sap in the thin wall of the tree's "phloem." 

Which trees are favored? 

Not just sugar maples and birches.  I was surprised to find a study that reported the familiar rows of sap wells in nearly a 1,000 woody plant species.  (I always wondered why I keep seeing the distinctive rows of sapsucker holes on trees other than maples).

These birds defend their sap wells from other sapsuckers - and the other animals attracted to them, including other woodpeckers, warblers, hummingbirds, bats, squirrels and porcupines!

Sapsucker's diet however, is not comprised solely of sap.  They also eat arthropods - ants, caterpillars and bees.

You can attract Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers to your yard by putting out grape jelly and suet feeders.

Northern Flickers are Back

I've spent most of the week monitoring bluebird boxes and driving my Prius down through the river bottoms over by Meridean.

                                                                                       female Northern Flicker

Flickers arrived Tuesday - and they've been very vocal - with their "wicka-wicka-wicka" and "klear" calls.  They're all over the lawns in the Durand area, hanging out with the robins.  At first I thought they were robins.  But when they flew off, I recognized my error - their white rumps are very conspicuous when they take off.

What are they doing on the ground?

Eating ants.   And that is probably one of the reasons flicker numbers are declining in Wisconsin.  Lawn chemicals and pesticides - our quest for weed- and insect-free lawns.   The irony of it all - birds eat lawn pests for free.

In addition to "green" lawns, we want our yards and parks - tidy.

When a tree dies, we tear it down and haul it away.    These snags provide food and nesting sites for woodpeckers and other cavity-nesting birds.

If that weren't enough, cavity-nesting birds suffer the success of progeny of the 100 European Starlings brought to Central Park back in 1890 in a misguided effort by Eugene Schieffelin to establish Shakespeare's birds in New York City.  


Other birds spotted this week:  Tree Swallows, Vesper Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Blue-winged Teal, Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, Great Blue Herons, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (doing a great spiral chase up an aspen over by Silver Birch Lake county park), Pileated Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Cowbirds and Eastern Phoebes.  Dark-eyed Juncos are still around.

And tomorrow is April 15th:  pay your taxes and put out your hummingbird feeders!

Pileated Woodpeckers

I have been seeing Pileated Woodpeckers, here in the Lower Chippewa River Valley, at least once a week.  I see them flying across State Road 25 near Round Hill just about every time I drive to Durand.  Last week I spotted one flying by in Tarrant Park.   But I never see them when my camera is ready.

When I see their "fresh" holes in trees all along the Chippewa River State Trail, I picture myself sitting in a little blind with my camera.

But it's been over a decade since I got close enough to get a good photo of the largest woodpecker in our woods.

Then as I was sitting at my computer this morning, a female pileated showed up at my suet feeder - 5 yards from my kitchen table.  My camera was right there - with the right lens.  Amazing how easy it can be.  Being in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment.  Serendipity.

I slowly got up from my chair, and pulled the camera to my eye.  So intent on the peanut butter suet, she tolerated my closeness.

She stayed only long enough to empty the feeder (which was nearly empty when she arrived).  She was there for just a minute - long enough to get a photo.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers

Years ago, the first time I spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker, there was no confusing its call, the churrr rattle.  But I just didn't see the red belly.   What was he thinking -  the ornithologist who named this bird?

Then I got to thinking about how those early bird men "saw" them - in the hand, not through binoculars.  In the hand - the red belly is striking.  This winter, it's been easy to see it on the male in whose territory my feeding station resides.  While he prefers the peanut butter suet feeder right outside my kitchen window, I've also seen him on corn.

This afternoon, I took the Prius out to look for Ruffed Grouse, and wouldn't ya know, the first bird we spotted along County Rd V by the cornfield up the road, was a red-bellied pecking away on the ground along the roadside, along with a dozen Horned Larks and a surprise pair of Eastern Bluebirds.

As we headed up the snow-covered road to the top of the coulee, a Northern Flicker flew right in front of us.  We haven't seen one of those at our feeders - ever.   What's that all about?