Great Backyard Bird Count - The Woodpecker Miracle

Video: Great Backyard Bird Count - The Woodpecker Miracle

Downy Woodpeckers and Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers return to the Backyard on the same day and on the same tree during the Great Backyard Bird Count - the woodpecker miracle! In general, birding in the Backyard has been slower in the past year and the cheerful sound of the Downy Woodpecker in particular has been missing for some time. That unmistakable high-pitched call was the first thing I heard this morning! For a sample check out:

https://youtu.be/0U_ytdBQKuU

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Video: Great Backyard Bird Count - The Woodpecker Miracle

Squirrel Attacks Pileated Woodpecker and Steals Its Bugs

Video: Squirrel Attacks Pileated Woodpecker

Gray Squirrel stakes out a female Pileated Woodpecker on three different days and waits until she has exposed bug infested wood with her powerful beak and then attacks - scaring off the woodpecker and then immediately begins to eat where the Pileated Woodpecker just exposed the rotting wood. It is either doing this to gain access to the tasty ant larvae under the bark or there is something about the wood such as minerals or "medicine" that the squirrel finds appealing. Although it is not uncommon for squirrels and woodpeckers to occasionally have a tussle I have never heard of or seen this unusual behavior before. Clearly the squirrel has learned to take advantage of the Pileated Woodpeckers hard work - no doubt for some nefarious purpose. This may go on all the time in dense cover like this its just that I was lucky to notice it on a stretch of says. Generally the big Woodies are rare visitors to the Backyard.

Video: Squirrel Attacks Pileated Woodpecker

Woodpecker Couple Inspects Nest Box

Video: Woodpecker Couple Inspects Nest Box

A pair of Red Bellied Woodpeckers inspect a new Flycatcher Nest Box. Its now late July and 7 baby Red Bellied Woodpeckers have hatched and fledged in two broods so far this summer so I'm not sure what these two are up to - it could be they just can't resist checking out any potential nest site and give their opinion. Mother woodpecker in particular seems to spend a long time checking from every angle. Some nights the woodpeckers roost in the various nest boxes even though its not breeding season.

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Woodpecker Couple Inspects Nest Box

Video: Woodpecker Couple Inspects Nest Box

Loudest Woodpecker Drumming - Mini Documentary

Video: Loudest Woodpecker Drumming -  Mini Documentary

World's Loudest Woodpecker Drumming and Pecking! Northern Flickers use real man-made steel drums - metal chimney caps - that makes them intelligent "tool-users" and likely among the loudest woodpecker drummers in the world. But loud doesn't begin to describe what the 15-minute long drumming and calling sessions sound like  inside the house whose chimney top is used as a drum. Enjoy this short documentary and imagine what this sounds like at the break of dawn as a male Northern Flicker defends his territory, mate and nest box!

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Video: Loudest Woodpecker Drumming -  Mini Documentary

Blue Jays Versus Woodpecker

Video: Blue Jays Versus Woodpecker

Male Red Bellied Woodpecker joins the Blue Jay Family in the fight for morning peanuts. Presented in real-time it takes about 50 seconds from the time I open the door until the peanuts are gone! Listen for the blue jays imitating a Red Shouldered Hawk call as intimidation to keep squirrels and other birds away while the Jay strike force hits the peanuts.

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Video: Blue Jays Versus Woodpecker

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

Video: Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

Female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker woodpecker pecking rapidly on a tree for several minutes an a very windy day. This was a first time capture behind the backyard - I have never seen this colorful woodpecker around here before, although I've seen there many holes in some trees in area forests. On a walk through the forest you might spot rows of shallow holes in tree bark. In the Eastern U.S., this is the work of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, an enterprising woodpecker that laps up the leaking sap and any trapped insects with its specialized, brush-tipped tongue. Attired sharply in barred black-and-white, with a red cap and (in males) throat, they sit still on tree trunks for long intervals while feeding. To find one, listen for their loud mewing calls or stuttered drumming. Music with a wood-related them is provided by:

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Video: Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

Pileated Woodpecker Pecking

Video: Pileated Woodpecker Pecking

Big Pileated Woodpecker aka "Woody Woodpecker" Part Two. The big "Woody" returns to the woods behind the backyard to show how a woodpecker really pecks wood! Actually quite amazing to see in this clip especially how they use their specially adapted neck and head like a hammer to put tremendous power to the wood!

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Video: Pileated Woodpecker Pecking

Red Bellied Woodpecker Inspects and Pecks Inside Nest Box

Video: Red Bellied Woodpecker Inspects Nest Box

Red Bellied Woodpeckers inspecting and pecking inside the Woodpecker Nest Box. They inspect a potential house to raise their young very seriously and loudly! Obviously sound wood is very important to them as well as a good fit and comfort. Hopefully this is the year they will pick the house!

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Video: Red Bellied Woodpecker Inspects Nest Box

Red Bellied Woodpecker Eating Nectar of Giant White Bird of Paradise

Video:  Red Bellied Woodpecker Eating Nectar of Giant White Bird of Paradise

Red Bellied Woodpecker feasts on the nectar of the Giant White Bird of Paradise - an amazing tropical plant that is over 20 feet tall and whose flowers dwarf this rather large woodpecker. They are able to grow this tall in Florida after several warm winters without a freeze. They are bird magnets at certain times of the year.

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Video:  Red Bellied Woodpecker Eating Nectar of Giant White Bird of Paradise

Pileated Woodpecker Pecking And Eating Ants

Video: Pileated Woodpecker Pecking And Eating Ants

Close-up female Pileated Woodpecker pecking and eating Carpenter Ants. The largest of North American Woodpeckers - they use their large head and long necks like a hammer to amazing effect and the noise sounds like someone hammering in this close up video. Always exciting to see these impressive birds I was fortunate enough to hear this one and get close while being screened by heavy brush - only about six feet off the ground I was able to get eye-to-eye with this amazing bird.

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Video: Pileated Woodpecker Pecking And Eating Ants

Red Bellied Woodpecker in Flight

Video: Red Bellied Woodpecker in Flight

Rare head-on video of Red Bellied Woodpecker taking flight. It flies right at the camera from the nest box revealing its athletic undulating flight pattern with big rapid wing beats as it drops and then rises to the top of its pattern like a bullet as it passes my left ear.

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Video: Red Bellied Woodpecker in Flight

Northern Flicker Eating Ants

Video: Northern Flicker Eating Ants

Northern Flicker - Yellow Shafted variety (unique red mark at nape of the neck) makes a rare appearance in front of the camera eating ants. A very striking member of the woodpecker family it usually eats ants and bugs on the ground and is often heard in the deep woods with a call rivaling the great Pileated Woodpecker, but in the deep Great Smoky Mountains it is a rare sight.  It would have stayed longer, but a Chipmunk spooked it. 

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Video: Northern Flicker Eating Ants

Downy Woodpecker

Video : Male Downy Woodpecker

Male Downy Woodpecker gets first dibs on fresh block of suet. This handsome fellow may be one of the fledglings from earlier in the summer. Downy Woodpeckers will come to suet feeders all summer - just have to put them away at night if you live in bear country or the Raccoons zero in on the suet..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5YhNXYT064

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Video : Male Downy Woodpecker

Red Bellied Woodpecker Eating Mango

Video: Red Bellied Woodpecker Eating Mango

Red Bellied Woodpecker enjoying eating a Tommy Atkins Mango - a very discriminating palate and a healthy diet!

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Video: Red Bellied Woodpecker Eating Mango

Downy Woodpecker Calling and Drumming for Mate

Video: Downy Woodpecker Calling and Drumming for Mate

Male Downy Woodpecker Calling and Drumming for Mate - my best encounter yet with these elusive little woodpeckers. This perch has been used by generations of Downy's to call and drum from, but this time I had the camera ready! This male has picked this high perch with just the right wood to amplify his drumming - he is defending his breeding territory and courting a female.

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Video: Downy Woodpecker Calling and Drumming for Mate

Pileated Woodpecker Visits the Backyard !

Video:  Pileated Woodpecker Visits the Backyard !

A big Pileated Woodpecker stopping by the Backyard for a quick meal is always exciting! Camera work a little shaky at long range through the glass this time. I purposely let the long leaf pine tree that was blown down in a hurricane back in 2005 remain leaning on the backyard fence. It is now infested with bugs under the bark and starting to decay and should be a real magnet for woodpeckers etc. in the future. I'm going to set up the game camera there and see what i capture on film!

To see a real close up of a Pileated making amazing calls from last year about this same time check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glGpBragTs8

Amazing Pileated Woodpecker Calls

Video:  Pileated Woodpecker Visits the Backyard !

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Downy Woodpecker Eating Loquats

Video:  Downy Woodpecker Eating Loquats

Male Downy Woodpecker enjoys some ripe Loquats - a bird that doesn't sit still much - its always on the move working the trees. Heard more than seen around these parts, especially outside of breeding season. The Loquats are a pretty evergreen tree and a bit messy, but one can't deny their appeal to birds! A nice Downy Woodpecker call can be heard at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7bhQwjUSq0

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Downy Woodpecker Eating Loquats

Video:  Downy Woodpecker Eating Loquats

Woodpecker Couple House Hunting Fail

Video: Woodpecker Couple House Hunting Fail

A Red Bellied Woodpecker couple are house hunting and checking out our Woodpecker Nest Box. The male seems keen on looking inside and checking it out further, but the female is checking out the outside and the neighborhood and is seemingly unimpressed and abruptly takes off with Mr. Woodpecker in close pursuit.  A number of Red-Bellied woodpeckers have been checking out the house which sports a built-in video camera so they can stream their family life on the web, but no serious offers yet!

Another house-hunter who passed on the nest box

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Video: Woodpecker Couple House Hunting Fail

Red Bellied Woodpecker Nest Box Inspection

Video: Red Bellied Woodpecker Nest Box Inspection

A male Red-Bellied Woodpecker performs a very thorough inspection of the Woodpecker Nest Box I installed last year and seems to give it his seal of approval. He knocks on the walls and roof and it sounds nice and solid - a good place to raise a family. I have a camera inside the nest box this year and hopefully they will make a nest there this season and raise their young. The squirrels have shown no interest in it this year so maybe they will leave the woodpeckers alone - I think that is why the woodpeckers failed to use it last year.

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Video: Red Bellied Woodpecker Nest Box Inspection

Male Hairy Woodpecker In Deep Forest

Video: Male Hairy Woodpecker In Deep Forest Cover

Video: Male Hairy Woodpecker In Deep Forest Cover

A special treat to capture any woodpecker in the deep 

wild forest that has not seen people.

A special treat to encounter a male Hairy Woodpecker in the deep forest. These birds are very shy in their natural environment. I was fortunate to see (hear) this one without it seeing me and that the auto-focus stayed locked on through the dense cover. The Hairy Woodpecker is almost identical to the Downy Woodpecker except considerably larger and with a thicker bill. The Downy's (who were also present this morning) often announce their presence with calls, the Hairy's generally do not, you just hear them knocking on wood!

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