The Acorn Woodpeckers are Busy on the Tuolumne RIver

The Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) have been very busy this new year. There is a small colony (four or five) of them on the dead cottonwood trees near the west end of the Tuolumne Parkway Trail, and in the new year I've seen them numerous times storing away acorns. The one above had a mouthful!

If I don't see them on a given day, I almost always hear them. Their strange "waka-waka" is one of the more distinctive calls in the riparian forest.

The Acorn Woodpeckers range across the southwest and into Mexico and Central America, living in oak woodlands. They carve out cavities for their nests, but often must compete with invasive European Starlings and other bird species to maintain ownership. It gets noisy at times!

The Wonderful Woodpeckers of the Tuolumne River

One of the constant joys of birdwatching along the Tuolumne River along the Parkway Trail is the variety of woodpeckers who are almost ever-present along the walkway. Eight species of woodpecker have been reported in Stanislaus County. I see three of them on a constant basis, and I've seen two more species on rare occasions. The three I have yet to see are the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (very rare in our area), the Lewis's Woodpecker, and the Hairy Woodpecker.

Often the first one I will see or hear will be the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). A small colony of three or four of them live in a dead cottonwood tree near the west end of the trail. I often hear their distinctive call before I see them. They are usually busy hiding their precious acorns in the tree trunks, and spend a lot of time guarding their stores. Their faces make me think of clowns.

I often hear a chirp - chirp - chrrrchrrrrchrrrrr in the trees above the trail, high in the oak trees. It is a Nuttall's Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii) which is about as close to being a California endemic species as a bird can be. They range just into the northern part of Baja, along with all of four sightings in Nevada, and a single sighting in Oregon. Although they are strongly associated with oak trees, they don't consume acorns. They are more interested in gleaning bugs from the furrows in the trunks of the trees.

The third of the common woodpeckers on the Tuolumne River is the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). They look less like "normal" woodpeckers, and behave differently in many ways as well. For one, they spend much of their time foraging for ants and beetles on the ground. I almost always hear their piercing call before I see them.

The "rare" woodpeckers, the ones I only see occasionally, include the Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescents), and the Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber). I've only seen the Downy Woodpecker a half-dozen times in the past two years, and the Sapsucker only once, back in October. Across the entire county, there have only been a dozen or so reports of the Red-breasted Sapsucker this year (and none at all of the Yellow-breasted variety).

The sighting of Downy Woodpecker this morning was what got me thinking about how often I see woodpeckers along the Tuolumne Parkway Trail. I didn't get a clear picture this time, but I've included a picture from a few years ago. The Downy (and similar Hairy) Woodpeckers are similar to the Nuttall's Woodpecker overall, but the Nuttall's have bars across their back while the others have a vertical white band.

We've seen 116 species of birds on the Tuolumne trail this year. If you are patient (and willing the climb the stairway), it's a great place to practice your birdwatching skills.

A Kettle at Kewin: Acorn Woodpeckers on Dry Creek

I don't know who is responsible for the names of the different flocks of birds, but somehow a grouping of woodpeckers is a "kettle". I was running errands today in the La Loma area of Modesto and passed Kewin Park, a notable birding spot in the middle of town. Dry Creek runs through the park, and a nice riparian habitat has been maintained along the length of the creek which ironically is often not dry (miles and miles of irrigated fields upstream provide runoff during the dry summer). I saw a gathering of Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) so I jumped out and snapped a few pictures.

The woodpeckers live in communal groups in the oak woodlands of the west from Oregon to Central America. As their name suggests, they consume acorns. They store vast numbers of them in holes that they drill into tree trunks that are called granaries. Single trees can have tens of thousands of these stored acorns, and they are carefully guarded. One can often hear their distinctive 'waka waka' long before seeing them.

Acorn Woodpeckers along the Tuolumne River

If they took up residence in my yard, I would probably not like them as much. But they haven't, and so the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) remains one of my favorite sights when I walk the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail on most mornings. They are capable of doing a lot of damage to the eaves of a house, and they can be loud and raucous, but their clown-like faces and silly antics can be endearing.

The individuals that I've seen most often lately have been at war with European Starlings over nest cavities in an old dead cottonwood tree towards the west end of the Parkway Trail. I can't tell who's winning, but a number of times I've seen the woodpeckers hard at work producing a cavity while the Starlings watch and wait to take it over. There is a lot of flying, yelling and shuffling around. I've not posted pictures because my observation point is kind of distant, so pictures are so-so.

This morning I walked a bit further and took a careful look at some of the huge oak trees just east of the water treatment plant, and I heard the familiar calls of the woodpeckers, and one climbed out on a branch right in front of me and posed for awhile. I was honored to take a couple of portraits. I didn't see so many Starlings in the vicinity.

The shot below is typical of the woodpeckers at the west end war zone. The heavily zoomed photos are sometimes okay, but they don't convey much of the personality of the individual birds.

Happy as an Acorn Woodpecker in an Acorn Woodpecker Tree (with apologies to Randy Newman)

Really really sorry, Randy. It just doesn't flow like "Happy as a monkey in a monkey tree", but I kind of think of that song when I watch Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) hard at work storing their acorn riches in a "granary tree". Granary trees are the storage warehouses for a flock of the very sociable woodpeckers. A single chosen tree might hold 50,000 of them, and a woodpecker is almost always there guarding it.

I was just starting a hike at Pinnacles National Park a few weeks ago in Bear Gulch when I heard the familiar waka-waka of the Acorn Woodpeckers over my head. There were three or four of them.

Acorn Woodpeckers are almost the textbook definition of socialists. They share in the work of food storage, but they also share in the raising of young. Females will even lay eggs as a group in a single next. They are a truly western species, being found in the coastal states in oak woodlands, ranging into Mexico and Central America.

Northern Flicker on the Tuolumne River Bluffs (along with an Acorn Woodpecker)

I was out walking on the Tuolumne River as usual this morning, and saw practically no birds until I finished and had returned to the parking area at the top of the bluffs at the west end of the hike. I was actually driving out when I saw a different bird atop the nearly dead oak (it was a Mockingbird earlier). It was a male Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus).

It didn't immediately fly away, since I was using the car as a blind. I snapped a couple of pictures, and then noticed a second woodpecker a few yards away. That was odd, because it was a different species, an Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). I guess it was just kind of a woodpecker day.

Acorn Woodpecker in a Not Expected Tree

Sometimes bird-hunting happens when we're not expecting it. I was briefly in Southern California last week and we were in downtown Hemet waiting for dinner to be packed up at a Greek delicatessen. Palm trees of course are the iconic tree of Southern California, and there were a dozen or so in the vacant lot across the street. I was watching the birds, expecting Starlings, hoping for Hooded Orioles, but seeing something else entirely: Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus).

Of course in retrospect, a palm tree isn't a bad location for a woodpecker. The bark is soft, perhaps allowing for the easy storage of acorns gathered elsewhere, and as it turns out, for quarrying nest openings. I first noticed the birds hanging upside down where the nest was apparently located.

Acorn Woodpeckers are common in oak woodlands across the Pacific Coast states and Baja, so they aren't an unusual sight. It was just a bit odd to see them on a tree that makes dates rather than acorns...

Southern California, where the tropical mingles with the alpine (San Jacinto Peak is nearly 11,000 feet high and covered with snow in winter).

Acorn Woodpecker at Sequoia National Park

I have such a backlog of bird pictures accumulated in the last three weeks. I've been to the Cascades of Northern California, the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks, and there are riches at each. And I have so little time available, having reached the middle of the semester...

The Sequoia trip was the most recent, and we didn't actually see a great many birds, but at our first stop in the park, one of my students noticed the Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) in the trees above our vehicles. We were at the Foothills Visitor Center in the lower elevations of the park where the vegetation is dominated more by oak trees and chaparral. That's the ideal habitat for the woodpeckers. They have plenty of acorns, and lots of large "granary trees" where they drill thousands of holes to store their nutty treasures. They are very social birds, and generate a lot of noise as they chase through the tree tops. They are among my favorites.

Acorn Woodpeckers (and Spring Wildflowers) on the Tuolumne River Parkway

I've had a few chances to follow the Tuolumne River Parkway Trail in Waterford. It follows the river for about two miles at the point where the river leaves the Sierra Nevada foothills and flows into the Great Valley. The trail has been "almost complete" now for about 12 months (!), but it is walkable along its full length, although the surface has not been fully prepared yet (meaning there are pools and mud after a rainstorm).

I've seen the Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) most often in the oak trees on the upstream end of the trail, but they can be seen all along the trail where there are large trees. They are very nearly a California endemic, with a few being found south and north of the borders of the state in oak woodlands. They are comical looking birds, and their antics can be clown-like as well as they chase around the treetops.

Spring is arriving on the river, and a few wildflowers are poking up through the thick grass, including Golden Poppies, and Blue Dicks (Brodiaea)

With the rains of March, the river is up a little bit, although a lot of water is being held back in Don Pedro Reservoir upstream. We are still at a great water deficit, so this is probably not the year that we'll get a channel-clearing flood. The river is beautiful, though, and it is a privilege to have a nice stretch to explore within walking distance of my house.

Acorn Woodpecker Contemplating a Sunset near Yosemite National Park

I realize the explanation is a bit more prosaic, but I couldn't help but think that this Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) was quietly contemplating a beautiful sunset yesterday in the Sierra Nevada foothills just a few miles south of the Wawona entrance of Yosemite National Park. We were exploring the Nelder Grove of Sequoia trees, and saw the bird in a dead Ponderosa tree.

Some birds are incredibly intelligent, but we don't generally give them credit for enjoying things beyond their sphere of perception, mainly where their food and shelter is, and where the predators are. A fiery sky in the distance mainly provides a bit more light as far as they are concerned. Given the many holes drilled into the trunk of the snag, it's a granary tree. I have no doubt the bird was guarding its supply of acorns that have been secreted into the holes. 

The sunset was beautiful, though.

Acorn Woodpeckers on the Tuolumne River

It's been a while since Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) have graced these pages. I see them often, flying from tree to tree along the my walks on the Tuolumne River, but only occasionally do they perch low enough for some half-decent pictures.

We took a short drive upriver today to Turlock Lake State Recreational Area, a complex that includes the fairly barren lake itself, and a nice campground in a separate property on the Tuolumne River about 10 miles downstream of La Grange.

I was pleased to see the campground full, as our state parks are often an under-utilized resource in our state. The river was low, but that made it easier for kids to play in the water (and of course not one of them had a life jacket; shame on their parents). I must have been a sight among all the swimsuits, an old guy with a camera looking nowhere but up.

The Acorn Woodpeckers are creatures of southwest oak woodlands. They live, work, and breed cooperatively, knocking thousands of holes into old snags (granary trees), and filling the holes with acorns for food storage. Sometimes they will drill into eaves for the same purpose, causing a lot of damage. Some members of the group will stand guard over the granary trees, keeping out the troublemakers who would steal their food. They have a very distinctive waka-waka cry.

The Acorn Woodpeckers are fascinating birds that are holding their own against human encroachment. Where granary trees are removed, they simply start using buildings for storage. Oak woodlands themselves have been declining in California, as many of the oaks are not regenerating well. That could be a future problem for these interesting acorn hoarders.

Birds of the Day: A Descent of Acorn Woodpeckers along the Tuolumne River

The naming for groupings of birds is a fascinating linguistic affair. Apparently they date from the Middle Ages or earlier. My favorites so are are an ostentation of peacocks and an exaltation of larks. In any case, I was walking along the Tuolumne River in my home village this morning and saw a descent of Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus). They made themselves known long before I could see them, causing a racket in the branches above. The lighting was a challenge with the sun behind them. I've had to work with the saturation and contrast to get them visible in these photos.

The Tuolumne River is famous as the "other" Yosemite river, with her headwaters in the beautiful Tuolumne Meadows area near Tioga Pass. I live where the river emerges from the Sierra Nevada foothills onto the plains of the Great Valley. Our town ignored the presence of the river for a long time, but recently constructed a half-mile walking path along the banks under a wonderful canopy of old oak trees. Apparently there are plans to extend it downstream. That would be a nice development!

Bird of the Day: Acorn Woodpeckers at Chaw'se

Sitting for two hours at Chaw'se (Indian Grinding Rock State Park) in the Sierra Nevada near Jackson is to watch a soap opera. Dozens and dozens of birds were flitting about in the trees, but the main cast of the day were the Acorn Woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus). They were raucous and very busy storing acorns in the trees and on wooden poles in the park.

I love watching these birds. We tend to improperly anthropomorphize animals, but how can you not think of clowns when you see their colorful faces?

The woodpeckers are a western species, with a range that extends from Central America all the way to southern Oregon. They prefer oak woodlands, which is not too much of a surprise, given that acorns are one of their main food sources. They'll also eat insects, but insects won't be around during the winter. So they store acorns.

No, this picture isn't upside down, the bird was.

They'll drill thousands of holes into any available wood surfaces, including trees, telephone poles, or buildings.They'll stuff acorns in the holes, and then jealously guard their food stores from squirrels and the like.

Their storehouse trees are called granaries, and may contain tens of thousands of holes. The picture below was just one post in the picnic structure at Chaw'se.

We had a delightful afternoon watching these colorful birds at work in the nearly deserted park. Next time I will catch them all in the sun and in focus. It drove me nuts (acorns?) craning my neck, waiting for them to sit still long enough for a perfect pose. It will happen sometime!