NATURE CLICKS #563 - RED-HEADED WOODPECKER

Red-headed Woodpecker, Valley of Eden Bird Sanctuary, Illinois

Not long ago I wrote here about a migratory Red-headed Woodpecker in our front yard. Today we were in for a special treat. Joan and I drove over to Illinois and made a visit to the Valley of Eden Bird Sanctuary, not far from Stockton, IL. This 409-acre property contains managed grassland areas, upland forests, prairie restoration areas, and managed pasture. With other words, this area provides cover and food mix for many birds that have been in decline due to habitat loss and alteration of the land.

The breeding season is in full swing and some of the birds, like Dickcissel or Bobolink, which I hoped to see, stayed low in the grass and didn’t give much opportunity for a picture. Instead a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers came to our attention. With our binoculars and the long lens we spotted a cavity in a dead tree on the other side of a small but steep valley where they seemed to work on. I couldn’t let this opportunity pass by and hiked around the valley over to the other side. With the 1.4 teleconverter on the long lens I was able to maintain a safe distance. The birds did not stop their activities. One flew into the hole and I heard it chiseling with its long bill. The construction work for a nest cavity was obviously not finished. This wood pecker is a gorgeous bird and I had this kind of a shot in mind since a long time. Today was the day.

Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, Sigma APO Teleconverter 1.4x EX DG, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head,…@850 mm, 1/800s, f/9, ISO 1600, image cropped

WOODPECKER SPECIES #7 SHOWED UP

Red-headed Woodpecker, Little Maquoketa Valley, Iowa

As mentioned yesterday we had a lot of bird activities going on this weekend and I shared already a few moments with you in my last blog posts. But the photo that put the biggest smile in my face is the one above. It has been four years ago that we saw the Red-headed Woodpecker here up on the bluffs above the valley. They can be found in other parts of the driftless area and in the Upper Mississippi Valley and I have seen them occasionally but here in our woods they only show up for a short time in May, and not even every year. My guess has been that all the other woodpecker species are too much competition and the Red-headed Woodpecker seems to prefer dead trees that are closer to a body of water, although the Little Maquoketa River is just down in the valley. Who knows, we just don’t see them nesting right here. Male and female look very similar and seeing only one bird doesn’t help to determine what gender is in front of the lens.

With the appearance of the red-headed we have seen finally all seven species of woodpeckers that spend some time here during the year since January.

NATURE CLICKS #556 - YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

As mentioned yesterday already we had some early migrating bird arrivals this week. The first male House Wren was here eleven days earlier than 2022 and we saw a couple Chipping Sparrows, almost three weeks ahead of last years arrival date. Both species will raise their offspring here.

But the biggest surprise came yesterday when a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker showed up and visited our trees several times during the day. We are near the southern edge of their breeding range, which goes all the way up to northern Canada. The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is the only woodpecker in eastern North America that is completely migratory. We had a successful brood here in our woods in 2014 and the last time I photographed this woodpecker was in April 2018.

Sapsuckers feeding a little different than any of the other six woodpecker species we have here in the Little Maquoketa Valley. The following is a quote from the CornellLab website https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker/lifehistory#food :

As the name indicates, sapsuckers rely on sap as a main food source. Just like people who tap maple trees to make maple syrup, these birds drill their wells in early spring. Sapsucker wells are neatly organized, with several holes drilled in horizontal rows. The bird first drills narrow, circular wells into the tree’s xylem—the inner part of the trunk—to feed on sap moving up to the branches in early spring. Then, after the tree leafs out, the sapsucker begins making shallower, rectangular wells in the phloem, the part of the trunk that carries sap down from the leaves. This sap can be more than 10 percent sugar. These phloem wells must be continually maintained with fresh drilling, so the sap will continue to flow. Sapsuckers tend to choose sick or wounded trees for drilling their wells, and they choose tree species with high sugar concentrations in their sap, such as paper birch, yellow birch, sugar maple, red maple, and hickory. They drill wells for sap throughout the year, on both their breeding and wintering grounds. In addition to sap, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers also eat insects (mostly ants) and spiders, gleaning them from beneath a tree’s bark like other woodpeckers. And at times they perch at the edge of a tree branch and launch after flying insects to capture them in midair, like a flycatcher. Sapsuckers are also attracted to orchards, where they drill wells in the trees and eat fruit.

In my second photo you can see how the sapsucker has its bill in a hole at a tree branch, he obviously had drilled. There is also a hole visible with sap pouring out in the first image. It is to the left of the bird’s foot. You may not see that if you read this blog post on a device with a small screen. Beside being very happy about this photo opportunity I just thought it is very interesting how these woodpeckers time their migration with the arrival of spring and sap starting flowing in the trees here in eastern Iowa.

SHARPIE’S STRIKE

Sharp-shinned Hawk after making a kill

A short glimpse outside the window this late afternoon told me that a raptor was around because all the birds were gone. Well, wait a minute, except for one! It was our Sharp-shinned Hawk who got a hold of a woodpecker. There wasn’t much left of the bird and I’m still not 100% sure if the hawk caught a Downy or one of the larger Hairy Woodpeckers. The size of some feathers make me believe it was the latter.

I grabbed the camera quickly and opened the window silently. The picture is cropped to about DX size because I had to shoot through the legs of a bird bath installation in the front yard. The Sharp-shinned Hawk ate pretty fast but lifted its head from time to time.

The key for a sharp shot was predicting when the head is up and at a total standstill, called “peak of action”. The ability to shoot up to 14 frames per second with the Nikon Z6II helps to nail this moment even with just a short shutter burst.

Of course, we like all birds we are fortuned to see here above the Little Maquoketa Valley. It’s sad to see a woodpecker go, but we also know birds of prey, as the Sharp-shinned Hawk, play an important ecological role in maintaining the environmental health of their natural habitat. As apex predators they remove sick, old, and weak animals from prey population and keep prey species and mesopredator populations under control.

NATURE CLICKS #488 - RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker, Little Maquoketa River Valley, Iowa

It is mating season and most obvious is it by the birds that call for a mate or try to impress the other gender. Woodpeckers are among them and as soon daylight creeps above the horizon they make their presence known by drumming against a well sounding tree trunk or branch and by ratting calls, mostly by the males. Well, they need to eat too and suet feeders are like a magnet that pulls them within the reach of a lens. Of course, a feeder is not the best place for a photo but during the time the woodpeckers approach it, there are plenty of opportunities to make a click.

THE FLICKER'S STORY

Male Northern Flicker

The last couple mornings brought us some sunlight and combined with woodpeckers getting closer to their mating season, the colors of their feathers are at their best. The ground is soft and the Northern Flickers are in the grass and probe with their bills in the soil for insects. It is believed that they eat ants more than any other North American bird, but right now it is a little bit to early for their preferred food.

At this time of the year it is a good habit to have the camera with the long lens mounted on a tripod and always ready to shoot. You never know what shows up in the morning and if there is an interesting sighting, you might miss the opportunity to make a good click if the gear is not ready.

I talk a lot about the storytelling in our images, especially during my presentations, and it is always valid to ask yourself, “what is the story in the photo?”. It might be possible to get a shot of the flicker with his bill in the ground, mostly with the eyes closed, but is it desirable and will be a pleasing photo? I’m not so sure. The flicker in the grass, holding still for a few seconds, while watching out for predators, is a great moment to make the click. The little bit of dirt on its bill tells the story about its feeding habits. The colors of the flicker’s feathers, the old dried up leaves and faded grass, together with the first green of the season leave no doubt what time of the year the picture was taken. And there is your story…

OUR WOODPECKER TREE #1

Male Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker at “Woodpecker tree #1”

Nature is always in a state of change. We were out of town over the weekend and when we came home yesterday we found one of the elm trees in our front yard on the ground. We knew this would happen one of these days. The tree was heavily effected by the Dutch elm disease, had more and more bare branches every year, and eventually the roots died.

This elm was an important tree for my photography. I always called it “Woodpecker tree #1”. Its location was perfect for shooting six of the seven woodpecker species that spend time in our woods but many other birds used it as well for approaching the bird feeders in the front yard.

Well, it’s not the end of the world, although I’m a little sad. A young oak tree nearby is growing fast since a few years and may take over the role as the new “Woodpecker tree #1” 😊

BIG SURPRISE

Red-headed Woodpecker, Little Maquoketa River Valley, near Durango, iowa

Remember, I talked about several times before over the years that we see some birds here in our woods above the Little Maquoketa River Valley only for a few days in early May. One of them is the Red-headed Woodpecker, but to my surprise this bird showed up again yesterday evening. This makes me wonder if this guy will stick around during the summer. I haven’t seen a second one, a potential partner, like in other years, and maybe it was just the cold weather that we see a different pattern in migration. Other species, like the Scarlet Tanager or the Orchard Oriole, are also still present in larger numbers than usual. Not such a bad thing for the photographer but it puts up the question why this is all different this year…?

DIFFERENT TOOL

This shot wasn’t exactly intended when it was made during the very cold days we had last week. Two Downy Woodpeckers (out of actually ten!) had an argument about who can eat first at one of our suet feeders. It was made during the late afternoon, it was snowing, and light was fading away quickly. I shot at 1/50 s, nothing unusual for me even with the long lens, but that was definitely too slow for this outburst of energy between the two birds. Stories can be told in different ways and motion blur is one tool I like to explore more. I think I I like the outcome…

COMPETITION

Male Hairy Woodpecker

Four of the seven woodpecker species we find here in the woods above the Little Maquoketa River Valley are regular visitors to our bird feeders. At times with lots of snow and very cold temperatures, as we have right now, the competition over the food and feeding times is always on.

Female Northern Flicker

Size matters and if a Northern Flicker with its long bill wants to eat, everybody else has to wait in line. We count at least four different flickers.

The Hairy Woodpeckers do not visit as often as the other species and they are the most difficult ones to photograph. They are high in the ranks with their long bill and they can be very vocal. We see at least one pair and an immature bird.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Since we live here up on the bluffs the Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been a pleasure to watch every year. They may argue with a Hairy Woodpecker about the best spots, because they are similar in size, but if a flicker wants to feed, they go back to a waiting position. We see two adults and a couple immature red-bellies, who were born last year.

Male Downy Woodpecker

The smallest one of the bunch is the Downy Woodpecker. They look very similar to a Hairy Woodpecker but they are much smaller in size. As you can imagine the downys always have to leave a suet feeder if one of the bigger birds decides to eat. They are the first ones in the morning and still feed when all the other woodpeckers are gone at dusk. Usually we see 5-6 birds at the same time around the house but a week ago, when we received the first big snow of the season, we counted 10 different Downy Woodpeckers, which is a new record this year.

WOODPECKER COMPETITION

Red-headed Woodpecker ------

There is enough food for everybody available but today the woodpeckers acted like there was no tomorrow. It seems the “new kid on the block”, the Red-headed Woodpecker who hangs around here since a few days, wants to establish a dominance over all his cousins.

Hairy Woodpecker

Two Hairy Woodpeckers are permanent residents on our bluffs here and usually nobody messes with their long and sharp bill. They are about the same size as the red-headed but even they went out of its way.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Four Red-bellied Woodpeckers are part of the gang and can be very expressive and vocal if they dislike something. However, especially the younger birds, like this female, have been chased today by the red-headed “bully”.

Downy Woodpecker

The seven or eight Downy Woodpeckers are the cool girls and boys in our woods. They are much smaller in size and wouldn’t have any chance in a fight with their cousins. They stay away from the chase and come only to our feeders when the bigger guys need a break.

NATURE CLICKS #359 - DOWNY WOODPECKER

Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, MAGNETMOD MAGBEAM flash extender -----------------

We had one of these gray and windy winter days that give us the feeling that winter may never end. Not much interesting light today but I wanted to test a new flash extender. One of our five or six Downy Woodpeckers posed nicely for me. 

NATURE CLICKS #335 - RED-HEADED WOODPECKER

It took me 3 years and 12 days to make an image of the Red-headed Woodpecker again here in our neck of the woods. Today I finally saw an adult at a tree trunk, eying one of our suet feeders. At this time of the year the camera with long lens is always mounted on the tripod and ready to be used immediately. I didn’t get the shots the first time but the woodpecker came back a couple more times. The light was changing constantly from bright sun to slight overcast and back, and my index finger was switching between the button for exposure compensation and the shutter release all the time.

The Red-headed Woodpecker is supposed to be in our part of Iowa all-season but we have seen it only in May for short periods of time, the last time in 2013. All of the sources I use for identification and education about birds report a severe decline in the past half-century because of habitat loss and changes to its food supply. The good thing is, within the last two months we have seen all seven woodpecker species we had recorded before here on the bluffs above the Little Maquoketa River.