So That’s Why They Call It That
While in California last month we saw on eBird that the Jack Greene Trail in Atascadero had lots of different birds so we headed out there for a bird hike. The most numerous and active bird species we saw were the Acorn Woodpeckers. We had seen these in Costa Rica so they weren’t a Lifer, but we did get to see a lot of them in action.
The first thing you notice about Acorn Woodpeckers is their clown face. There’s just no other way to describe it. They are very social and vocal, chasing each other through the trees with a loud wheka wheka call. So why were they named Acorn Woodpeckers? Take a look at some of my pictures and you’ll see.
The Acorn Woodpecker creates holes in trees and then gathers acorns from the oak trees around them and fills the holes with the acorns to eat later. I didn’t realize this at first, but I was watching the bird in the first picture with an acorn in its beak all of a sudden the acorn disappeared. It took me a second to realize that it has inserted the acorn into a hole. Subsequent pictures confirmed that fact. Pretty interesting!
Stay Safe. Go Birding. Take Pics. Share Here. Repeat.
Mike
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