Weekly Woodpecker Roundup - 2/19/09

I've not had nearly as much time to grab the stick and surf the ol' interwebz in the last few weeks, so my roundup feels a bit thin to me as I approach it this week. Perhaps by the time this posts I'll be able to fill it out a bit more. (And, hopefully you have all been enjoying my posts about out trip to Trinidad and Tobago and will cut me a bit of slack.)

One of the first items that hit my woodpecker radar once I had the chance to do some browsing, was this amazing photo posted on National Geographic's site, taken by Martin Lukasiewicz in Rondeau Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, capturing a fight between a Northern Flicker and a Red-headed Woodpecker. I have to admit, I think that this is an early and almost sure winner for my favorite photo of 2009.

Bev at Behind the Bins had two posts this week that caught my eye. The first was a snap of a male Downy Woodpecker that showed a split nuchal patch (that red spot on the back of their heads) - something that is normal for Hairy Woodpeckers, but pretty rare on Downies as far as I can tell. Then she followed up with a post about searching for - and finding - endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in Sam Houston National Forest while on a business trip to Houston TX.

And speaking of Texas, Kyle over at As the Mind Wanders is a birder after my own heart. You will recognize his name from pretty much every roundup so far as he just keeps finding, photographing, and posting about the various woodpeckers he finds. This week he posted some pics he got of an immature Red-headed Woodpeckers for his "Bird Photography Weekly"

James at Coyote Mercury posted a few photos this week of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, a local speciecs he has become adept at finding in his neck of the woods, and that he got to spend some time with while taking part in the GBBC last weekend.

Hannibal, of Hannibal's Animals blog, posted some amazing photos of Pileated Woodpeckers this week, but I have to admit that my favorite is the first one on this post showing FIVE in flight.

Jeff Gordon's (no not the NASCAR driver) blog is regularly updated with some great images, often from central America, and this particular post had a fantastic image of a Linneated Woodpecker, a species I just say myself for the first time a few weeks ago.

Need an Ivory-billed Woodpecker update fix? Cyberthrush is always on top of things, keeping careful track of news and updates. Of particular interest to me this week was an update on Dr Geoff Hill's teams search for IBWOs in the Florida panhandle.

Gerard Gorman of the Probirder site just got back from a trip to Brazil, and recently posted a pic of one of the seven species of woodpeckers that he saw while there, a Blonde-crested Woodpecker. I for one, can say I'm looking forward to seeing if he has any pics of the other six he saw.

And don't forget to periodically check in on Gerard's other site, Woodpeckers of Europe for plenty of good photos, drawings, and information.

Finally, and I apologize for ending on a low note, the residents in Rossmore, a retirement community in Walnut Creek, California are continuing with their plan to bring in permitted sharpshooters to try to rid themselves of Acorn Woodpeckers that are drilling into their townhouse homes. They claim to have tried a variety of methods to deter the woodpeckers. It just disgusts me that this is still considered a viable solution, and that they believe that this will solve their problem. How many birds do they plan to kill before they realize that it will not work? It is especially disheartening that this is being carried out on a such a strongly communal species, where family bonds are very strong. I can rant about this for hours on end, and have sent letters, signed petitions, etc but will spare you the current rage that is building inside me as I write.

Grrrrr.....


LATE ADDITION: Just found this one. Chris of Vermont had a great post on his Tales of Birding blog about Acorn Woodpeckers and their social structure, cooperative breeding, and communal behavior. He cites information from Walter Koenig, who literally wrote the book(with Ronald Mumme) on this species: "Population Ecology of the Cooperatively Breeding Acorn Woodpecker" I loved the book (go figure) but can be a bit pricey. I would highly suggest reading Chris' post for a very nice summary of the fascinating behaviors of this woodpecker! (and some nice pics he took on a recent trip to SE Arizona)


As always, if you have some cool info or a post about woodpeckers, drop me a line - I'd love to know about it.