by
Budd Titlow
I’ve been doing wildlife-birding surveys for 45 years and I’d never seen anything quite like it. The trunks of two large pine trees displayed row after row of neatly drilled small holes. Closer inspection revealed acorns carefully tucked into most of these holes.
The trunk of a large pine tree displays row after row of neatly drilled small holes with acorns tucked inside.
Curiosity got the best of me. I had to find out what was going on. I walked around to the base of the trees and — within minutes — I had my answer. A flock of about 10 woodpeckers — all clamoring wacha-wacha-wacha— descended on the tree trunks. For the next 15 minutes they flitted about the trees, noisily squabbling with each other and digging acorns and insect larvae out of the bark. Then they were off, only to return again 10 minutes later for another session of feeding and fighting.
A flock of woodpeckers — all clamoring wacha-wacha-wacha— descended on the tree trunks.
If you haven’t experienced the playful antics of acorn woodpeckers, you’re missing a treat. Their raucous antics have earned them the title of “clowns of the oak-pine woodlands”. In the U.S., the primary habitat for these birds is found in the coastal and foothill areas of Oregon and California with extensions into oak-dominated forests of the Southwest.
Belying its reputation for being among the “clowns of the oak-pine woodlands”, an adult acorn woodpecker poses quietly on the trunk of a dead “snag tree'”.
Acorn woodpeckers are robin-sized birds with harlequin-feathered faces perched atop black-and-white bodies. Their off-kilter laughing calls inspired the distinctive “voice” that Walter Lantz gave to his Woody Woodpecker cartoon character.
Living in small (seven to twelve birds) family colonies, acorn woodpeckers exhibit some of the most extreme social behaviors found in the birding world. First and foremost is each colony’s diligence in establishing communal “granary trees” packed with acorns. Each fall during the peak of oak mast production, a colony of these woodpeckers begins drilling thousands of storage holes in the soft wood of large pines. Then — working cooperatively — the birds begin transporting acorns to their selected granary trees and carefully tucking them into the drilled holes.
Often supplemented by fruit, insects, and sap, the acorns sustain the woodpecker colony through the often-severe winter weather where they choose to live. Throughout the fall and winter — as the acorns shrivel and shrink — each bird in a colony dedicates most of its daily hours to moving them around to different-sized holes for a tighter fit. If the acorns aren’t snugly maintained, they become easy targets for squirrels, Steller’s jays, scrub jays, and other such “cache robbers” to steal.
An adult acorn woodpecker holds the pupa of an insect that it just fished out of this tree bark.
With the onset of April each year, the nesting season begins and each colony’s behavior becomes even stranger. The living arrangements would intrigue even the most outlandish Hollywood producer. In a polygynous mating system, multiple males and females share the same tree nesting cavity in which they all breed together. Yes you read that right — it is basically an avian orgy. Then the female who lays the first eggs experiences the ignominy of having her eggs pecked apart and eaten by the colony’s other adults. In a bizarre twist, the egg-laying mother often joins on this soiree of feathered cannibalism. But —not to fear — after the first clutch is devoured, the nesting females all lay additional eggs which are then judiciously nurtured.
While this nesting process would make even Casanova blush, the end result is usually quite successful. That’s because all of the adult and sub-adult “helper birds” pitch in to make sure the hatchlings are kept well-fed, safe, and secure until they can fend for themselves.
If you’re visiting San Diego County, acorn woodpecker colonies can be found throughout such high elevation locales as Laguna Mountain Recreation Area and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Based on my personal experience, these birds are extremely easy to find in both of these areas. Just keep your eyes peeled for the large granary trees packed with acorns. They’re just about everywhere you look — along roadsides and even bordering picnic areas and campgrounds. Once you successfully locate a few granary trees, wait for the wacha-wacha-wacha calls. Then watch as the sky fills with woodpeckers.
Photo credits: Copyright Budd Titlow, NATUREGRAPHS.
Author’s bio: For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees. Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place — within nature’s beauty — before it’s too late? Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental heroes among us — harking back to such past heroes as Audubon, Hemenway, Muir, Douglas, Leopold, Brower, Carson, and Meadows — needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — COMING FULL CIRCLE: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America — provides the answers we all seek and need. Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.
This Birding Life 