I think it's true to say that for many people, woodpeckers, like owls, hold a special fascination.
It's interesting to note that the B.C. Checklist (Biodiversity Centre for Wildlife Studies) lists 14 species. Some, like the white-headed woodpecker of the Okanagan, are very rare indeed (in B.C.). It's my jinx bird. Many birders have a jinx bird, a species that after much effort remains elusive. I've narrowly missed seeing the white-headed woodpecker on three occasions, but I remain certain my day will come!
The special attractions of woodpeckers are not just their beauty, but also their amazing ways of life, with special adaptations, like skulls, bills, feet and feathers. In fact, another moniker for woodies is chisel-bills. Their skulls are specially constructed for absorbing the shock of hammering. The title of Mike O'Connor's fine book from Beacon Press is Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Headaches?: And Other Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask.
Specialized tongues and sticky saliva are other adaptations of woodpeckers as aids for feeding on insects like ants, a favourite.
The North Shore's woodpeckers range from the tiny downy to the crow-sized pileated, North America's largest. The title of largest belongs to the fabled ivorybilled woodpecker, now thought to be extinct. The Conservation Area at Maplewood Flats has good diversity of species, including the downy, hairy, flicker, pileated and the red-breasted sapsucker. The American three-toed woodpecker is a rare species of our local mountain parks.
Backyard birders, and anyone who birds even casually, will often be charmed by the tiny downy woodpecker. This species does a lot of probing in tree bark for insects. The downy is sometimes confused with a larger look-alike, the hairy. The bill of the downy is much shorter than the hairy's and it often has several black spots on the outer tail feathers. The hairy lacks these spots.
At one time the yellowshafted flicker and redshafted flicker were separate species, then they were lumped and given the name of northern flicker. It's still fun to watch for both.
The red-shafted has salmon-coloured wing linings and red whiskers, whereas the yellow-shafted has yellow wing lining and black whiskers with a red patch on the back of its head (nape).
The red-shaft is our common local bird with the eastern yellow shaft a rarity. Watch for intergrades showing field marks of both, like red whiskers and a red nape patch.
Soon flickers will be drumming as part of their breeding activity (territory, finding a mate, etc.). Flickers choose a wide variety of drumming posts, including street lamp covers, metal on rooftops and mail boxes.
Sapsuckers are real specialists making neat rows of holes called wells in order to drink the sap and eat insects (like ants) attracted to the sweet liquid.
Four species occur in B.C.: Yellow-bellied, rednaped and red-breasted (our local species), and the Williamson's. Sapsuckers really don't suck sap but use their specialized tongues to sip sap. In spring the flowing sap attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and other wildlife species. Sap only flows for a limited time of the year. What do sapsuckers do then? They fly catch, probe, and feed on fruit and inner tree bark. Watch for their wells on hemlocks and birches - two favourite local sapsucker trees.
The spectacular pileated woodpecker with its red top knot is our largest woodpecker. Ants, especially carpenter, are a favourite food, but beetles, grubs and termites are also eaten. Watch for its distinctive squarish-or rectangular-shaped feeding holes. Its call is loud and has been described as a laugh.
Woodpeckers need old trees in which to feed and nest. A dead tree, it has been said, is full of life - a cafeteria of sorts for woodies!
Watch and listen for woodies in the Conservation Area at Maplewood Flats' woods - hairy, downy and pileated - with flickers seen in more open habitats, often perching on a tree top or pole.
Enjoy the chisel-bills and all our wonderful birds.
Keep safe.
Al Grass is a naturalist with Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia, which offers free walks at The Conservation Area at Maplewood Flats on the second Saturday of every month. Meet at WBT's site office, 2645 Dollarton Hwy, North Vancouver. Walks go rain or shine. wildbirdtrust.org
