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Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus
33.3461, -118.325
Field Notes
Description:
The Acorn Woodpecker is a glossy black above with a black, yellow and white face. It has a black chest streaked with white, white under parts, and white patches on its wings and rump. It also has a distinctive white eye. You might find several red or yellow feathers on the throat. The male has a white forehead and a red crown; the female has a black bar in front of the red crown. The juvenile is similar to the female but has darker eyes and are more brown in color.
Habitat:
This woodpecker was using the palm trees along Avalon Bay to stash its acorns.
Notes:
Acorn Woodpeckers are gregarious, social and noisy. They live in groups of up to 15 birds and stay close to their “granaries” where they drill holes with their bills so they can store enough acorns to last through the winter. These granaries may be trees however, any wood will do. They will also use posts, telephone poles and even house siding and the eaves of a house if it is in their territory. The drilled holes that hold the acorns are refilled each year and can hold up to 50,000 acorns! A cache this large requires a large family group to defend their granary tree. If they run out of acorns they might move south. In the summer, they catch flying insects and forage for ants, eat sap, nectar, lizards and bird eggs. Their call is a loud “rach-et, rach-et, rach-et.” They also make chattering and laughing calls. Woodpecker groups are made up of siblings, their cousins and their parents. They have an undulating flight, where you will be able to see the white patches on their wings.
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