 Sliver Lips This year I was asked to write a brief Cariboo birding article for a tourist magazine and chose to write about waterfowl. Though it was a good choice, there are two other well represented bird groups – the Flycatchers and the Woodpeckers. Since I’ve recently spent some time watching Woodpeckers I will write about them and leave the Flycatchers for some other day. There are nine species of Woodpecker found in the South Cariboo. From largest to smallest they are: Pileated, Northern Flicker, Hairy, Three-toed, Black-backed, Red-naped Sapsucker, the occasional Red-breasted Sapsucker and the diminutive Downy Woodpecker. I end this list with a Woodpecker that many people may not have seen and part of the reason is that it is fond of ponderosa pine country – the Lewis’s Woodpecker. Most people are familiar with the three ‘black and whites’ or winter woodpeckers as I call them. They are the ones that come to suet feeders all winter long and do not migrate – the Hairy, Downy and the Pileated. Two other winter woodpeckers, the Three-toed and the Black-backed Woodpeckers, may go unnoticed despite the fact they probably pass through yards as much as the other three. Their relative obscurity isn’t due to their rarity but probably has something to do with their lack of interest in human food offerings. The Black-backed has gone through several name changes over the years and I still prefer to call it the Black-backed-three-toed Woodpecker since the present moniker makes no mention of this dactyl shortage. The Three-toed Woodpecker frequents mixed to open forest areas. Edges of fields and pastures where dead trees still stand may host a pair during nesting season. The Black-backed is more reclusive. If I want to find a Black-backed I head for areas where evergreen stands are dense and contain a greater percentage of spruce trees. Here, if one walks slowly and listens at intervals, it is possible to find this Woodpecker as it taps and scrapes on tree trunks in search of food under the bark. One of our migrant Woodpeckers is the Red-naped Sapsucker. In the west it replaces the more well-known Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and one can be quite sure that any Sapsucker that is encountered is this species. Occasionally it is possible to find a Red-breasted Sapsucker and I have already done so this year. Some might call a Red-breasted a Red-headed Woodpecker at first glance since its head is indeed red. The Lewis’s Woodpecker is another migrant of the Woodpecker clan. Found in the dry country where ponderosa pines grow this peculiar species bears little resemblance to its relatives. It flies like a small crow, often catching insects in the air, and is coloured in glossy green, wine, grey and black. Another un-woodpecker-like Cariboo Woodpecker is the Northern Flicker. If I had to hazard a guess I would say that about 95% of them leave for the winter and the remaining 5% stay behind and hang around winter feeders. The Flicker (which by the way is once again nesting in my yard) is a spotted and striped large sand-coloured bird which flashes a white rump patch and either red or orange wing linings in flight. Some of the Flicker’s favourite food is ants, so the Flicker is often flushed from the ground while foraging. Once called the Red-shafted, or Yellow-shafted Flicker, the two races became so indistinguishable that a name change was required. It is still possible to find an almost pure Red-shafted race but for the sake of argument they are all now called Northern Flickers. So why is the Cariboo so popular with Woodpeckers? Trees, and more trees; and not just live trees. Woodpeckers require trees in all states of decay. Dead and dying deciduous, or evergreen trees, are ravaged by many types of insect and grub, all provide sustenance for Woodpeckers. Many dead trees are also utilized as nest sites. As mentioned earlier I have spent some time lately looking at Woodpeckers. My goal is that of finding a nesting pair of Three-toed Woodpeckers to show to an incoming birder. While questing for a Three-toed Woodpecker nest (which I found this morning) I also found a nesting Red-naped Sapsucker, a nesting Downy, a nesting Northern Flicker, and a nesting Pileated Woodpecker. All were on a circuitous walk on the wooded margin of one small pond. Yes, we certainly have a respectable array of Woodpeckers. In fact I think you could call the experience a Woody Woodpecker show. To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column CLICK HERE |
