PICIFORMES

I Like This Head Bang Sh*t!

August 1, 2020 — 14 Comments

F/13.0, 1/640, ISO 320.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Why did the football coach go back to the bank?

To get his quarterback!

Interesting Fact: For birds that nest in cavities, nest holes are precious turf. Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been known to take over the nests of other birds, including the much smaller (and endangered) Red-cockaded Woodpecker. But more often they’re victims to the aggressive European Starling. As many as half of all Red-bellied Woodpecker nests in some areas get invaded by starlings. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Redbellied_Woodpecker/lifehistory )

I Have Been Thinking To Buy A Drill.

June 28, 2020 — 3 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 500.

Northern Flicker 

What is a mattress’ favorite season?

Spring.

Interesting Fact: Northern Flickers usually excavate nest holes in dead or diseased tree trunks or large branches. In northern North America look for nests in trembling aspens, which are susceptible to a heartrot that makes for easy excavation. Unlike many woodpeckers, flickers often reuse cavities that they or another species excavated in a previous year. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/lifehistory )

 

 

Shh… I’m Hiding From Negative People.

May 22, 2020 — 2 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Northern Flicker 

What did the math text book say to the Shakespeare text book?

I’ve already got a lot of problems, and I don’t need any of your drama.

Interesting Fact: Although it can climb up the trunks of trees and hammer on wood like other woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker prefers to find food on the ground. Ants are its main food, and the flicker digs in the dirt to find them. It uses its long barbed tongue to lap up the ants. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/ )

 

 

This Tree Taste Really Weird To Me?!

March 18, 2020 — 18 Comments

F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 320.

Pileated Woodpecker

Why did the belt go to jail?

Because it held up a pair of pants!

Interesting Fact: The Pileated Woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/lifehistory )

Peck Like There Is No Tomorrow!

March 5, 2020 — 12 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 400.

Pileated Woodpecker 

Why do mummies make great spies?

They’re good at keeping things under wraps.

Interesting Fact: Pileated Woodpeckers forage in large, dead wood—standing dead trees, stumps, or logs lying on the forest floor. They make impressive rectangular excavations that can be a foot or more long and go deep inside the wood. These holes pursue the tunnels of carpenter ants, the woodpecker’s primary food. The birds also use their long, barbed tongues to extract woodboring beetle larvae (which can be more than an inch long) or termites lying deep in the wood. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/lifehistory )

Keep On Knockin!

January 30, 2020 — 7 Comments

F/8.0, 1/800, ISO 800.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker 

What did one traffic light say to the other?

Don’t look at me while I’m changing!

Interesting Fact: These birds often stick to main branches and trunks of trees, where they hitch in classic woodpecker fashion, leaning away from the trunk and onto their stiff tail feathers as they search for food hiding in bark crevices. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker/lifehistory )