Woodpeckers

A few weeks ago, I looked out and had five – 5- blue jays on my deck and thought, “Wow, must be convention!” Now, I know not everyone likes blue jays, they are pigs and smaller birds really do have to wait or fight to get to the food box but hey, survival is survival, right? I have plenty of bird feeders and although this time of year doesn’t really require much food in them, I still fill'em up to keep the birds coming to my place…ya, bite me!!!



However, lately I have found myself with “woodpeckers,” and I mean, lots of woodpeckers. Ok, I do have a tree dying in my back yard and that bark is real nice fodder for them but how the hell do they find the tree in the first place. And to gather in my yard, on my deck and eat from my bird feeders is just flat out a sight to watch.



Now the pileated woodpeckers (which seem to be the ones here) are the largest of the common woodpeckers found in most of North America (ya I know you are interested in these facts). Here are some more facts:



• Most woodpeckers have four toes. Two face forward and two face backward. This arrangement is called “zygodactyl.”


• Their short legs and sharp nails make it easier for them to cling to bark.


• A pair of stiff, centrally located tall feathers, allow the bird to “tripod” itself on trees. This facilitates a solid platform from which the woodpecker can strike the tree with its beak. These important feathers are not molted until their replacements have fully grown in.


• A straight, chisel-like bill is used to excavate holes in trees for nesting and roosting. It is also used for foraging insects, insect eggs and larva.


• Woodpeckers lay 2-8 white eggs. Both parents aid in incubation. The young are born blind and naked.


• All woodpeckers have a characteristic wing-beat pattern while flying: 3 flaps and glide, 3 flaps and glide….(ya, you’re gonna watch now, aren’t you?)



You know that woodpecker hammering you hear now and then? Actually it can be heard from a great distance to the actual bird and they also use it to attract mates and to announce the boundaries of their territories. Pairs establish territories and live on them all year long. So if I leave this tree up, I’m gonna have woodpeckers all year, eh? Sorry, drummer-heads but the tree is coming down…dead tree is not good and leaving it could result in it eventually falling and causing some damage…not a good idea.



Now you have insight into woodpeckers and you thought this was gonna be a silly day!!!



I’m O.C.D.---old, cranky & demented.

Saturday's weather ain't looking so good, its currently 63 degrees but its also -- you know what I'm gonna say --raining!  I was really hoping it would be dry today and I could mow the yard but hey, this continues much longer and I'll need a farmer to come by with a real mower -- hell, might even have enuff to bale too.