Nature What is this woodpecker doing?

What is this woodpecker doing? · 01:23 PM

I saw the woodpecker had something in its mouth when I was taking the pictures, but I realized after I took these pictures it looks like he is storing it in the tree? Is that right or did he just drop it? The sequence is three shots taken probably a couple seconds apart.

bertwert · 11-17-2015, 01:23 PM

Weird, never seen that before...

**boriscleto** · 11-17-2015, 01:33 PM

She's caching the food. I see nuthatches do this too.

elementdtlop · 11-17-2015, 01:37 PM

ya me neither. i saw him fly up with what was in his mouth so i know it wasn't from that hole, but it was too hard to see him do that in person because of the lighting. i had to drop the shadows out almost totally in post to get what you see because of the angle i was at when he flew there. i wasn't missing him again though! i got the backside of him in focus numerous other shots, but every time he turned towards me before these the camera focused on the leaves behind him.

---------- Post added 11-17-15 at 03:37 PM ----------

Originally posted by boriscleto

She's caching the food. I see nuthatches do this too.

i read that as catching not caching at first. gotcha that makes sense.

**dadipentak** · 11-17-2015, 01:39 PM

Originally posted by boriscleto

She's caching the food. I see nuthatches do this too.

Yup, they're squirrels with feathers.

**jpzk** · 11-17-2015, 02:18 PM

Definitely "hiding" the foodstuff for further retrieval !
I have one of those Red-bellied Woodpecker (I think this is what you have on your picture; looks much like it) visiting yearly and it does that same thing .... funny to see too.

As long as you have plenty of goodies to offer, it will likely spend the entire winter at your place ... peanut, fruits, some seeds will do the trick!

Cheers!

---------- Post added 11-17-15 at 04:19 PM ----------

Originally posted by dadipentak

Yup, they're squirrels with feathers.

We shall not discuss this with Otis !

bertwert · 11-17-2015, 02:27 PM

Originally posted by jpzk

We shall not discuss this with Otis !

Now then, how long until Rupert is here posting on behalf of Otis?

**csa** · 11-17-2015, 03:20 PM

Woodpeckers also love suet!

**boriscleto** · 11-17-2015, 04:07 PM

Meet the Bird that Filled an Antenna With Acorns

elementdtlop · 11-17-2015, 06:07 PM

thats awesome.

pete-tarmigan · 11-17-2015, 07:55 PM

Originally posted by boriscleto

She's caching the food. I see nuthatches do this too.

Various species of chickadees (a.k.a. tits in Britain), woodpeckers, nutcrackers and jays also stock up for the winter. There have been lots of studies on the spatial memory that chickadees and Pinyon Jays use to find their caches. The Gray Jay stores food in the fall so it can feed its young before spring thaw in alpine and boreal forests.

elementdtlop · 11-18-2015, 07:42 AM

i saw like 6 blue jays right next to each other the day before which is why i brought my camera this particular day. i didn't see any of those guys, but i did spot the two woodpeckers. they've been eluding me too. the blue jays were probably doing the same thing. a horde of like 50 black birds came and scared them off by the time i was making my way back with my dog.

**crewl1** · 11-18-2015, 08:03 AM

I'm familiar with Acorn woodpeckers who store the nuts in the bark of oak trees around where we go camping in our mountains.
You can see the trees have thousands of shallow holes in the trunks, with or without an acorn stuffed in each.
I wil look through my photos to see if I have any I can post.

**crewl1** · 11-19-2015, 04:41 PM

Here is a picture where you can spot some holes in this oak.
This was taken mid summer so all the holes look empty, they are probably filled by now.
Usually you will see a round acorn butt sticking out part way in the holes.

elementdtlop · 11-20-2015, 11:24 AM

a tree was recently downed by my house and there were so many holes the size that one is sitting in it was crazy. i will take my camera next time i walk my dog. its crazy how much they tear into those trees. this tree was on its way out so i can imagine it was much softer than a live one like that.

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11-17-2015, 01:23 PM	#2
bertwert Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Golden, BC Posts: 15,173	Weird, never seen that before...

11-17-2015, 01:33 PM	#3
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	She's caching the food. I see nuthatches do this too.

11-17-2015, 01:37 PM	#4
elementdtlop Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 97 Original Poster	ya me neither. i saw him fly up with what was in his mouth so i know it wasn't from that hole, but it was too hard to see him do that in person because of the lighting. i had to drop the shadows out almost totally in post to get what you see because of the angle i was at when he flew there. i wasn't missing him again though! i got the backside of him in focus numerous other shots, but every time he turned towards me before these the camera focused on the leaves behind him. ---------- Post added 11-17-15 at 03:37 PM ---------- Originally posted by boriscleto She's caching the food. I see nuthatches do this too. i read that as catching not caching at first. gotcha that makes sense.

11-17-2015, 01:39 PM	#5
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	Originally posted by boriscleto She's caching the food. I see nuthatches do this too. Yup, they're squirrels with feathers.

11-17-2015, 02:18 PM	#6
jpzk Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Québec Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 8,251	Definitely "hiding" the foodstuff for further retrieval ! I have one of those Red-bellied Woodpecker (I think this is what you have on your picture; looks much like it) visiting yearly and it does that same thing .... funny to see too. As long as you have plenty of goodies to offer, it will likely spend the entire winter at your place ... peanut, fruits, some seeds will do the trick! Cheers! ---------- Post added 11-17-15 at 04:19 PM ---------- Originally posted by dadipentak Yup, they're squirrels with feathers. We shall not discuss this with Otis !

11-17-2015, 02:27 PM	#7
bertwert Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Golden, BC Posts: 15,173	Originally posted by jpzk We shall not discuss this with Otis ! Now then, how long until Rupert is here posting on behalf of Otis?

11-17-2015, 03:20 PM	#8
csa Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Montana mountains Posts: 10,133	Woodpeckers also love suet!

11-17-2015, 04:07 PM	#9
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Meet the Bird that Filled an Antenna With Acorns

11-17-2015, 06:07 PM	#10
elementdtlop Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 97 Original Poster	thats awesome.

11-17-2015, 07:55 PM	#11
pete-tarmigan Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Conception Bay South, New-fun-land Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,272	Originally posted by boriscleto She's caching the food. I see nuthatches do this too. Various species of chickadees (a.k.a. tits in Britain), woodpeckers, nutcrackers and jays also stock up for the winter. There have been lots of studies on the spatial memory that chickadees and Pinyon Jays use to find their caches. The Gray Jay stores food in the fall so it can feed its young before spring thaw in alpine and boreal forests.

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11-18-2015, 07:42 AM	#12
elementdtlop Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 97 Original Poster	i saw like 6 blue jays right next to each other the day before which is why i brought my camera this particular day. i didn't see any of those guys, but i did spot the two woodpeckers. they've been eluding me too. the blue jays were probably doing the same thing. a horde of like 50 black birds came and scared them off by the time i was making my way back with my dog.

11-18-2015, 08:03 AM	#13
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	I'm familiar with Acorn woodpeckers who store the nuts in the bark of oak trees around where we go camping in our mountains. You can see the trees have thousands of shallow holes in the trunks, with or without an acorn stuffed in each. I wil look through my photos to see if I have any I can post.

11-19-2015, 04:41 PM	#14
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	Here is a picture where you can spot some holes in this oak. This was taken mid summer so all the holes look empty, they are probably filled by now. Usually you will see a round acorn butt sticking out part way in the holes.

11-20-2015, 11:24 AM	#15
elementdtlop Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Posts: 97 Original Poster	a tree was recently downed by my house and there were so many holes the size that one is sitting in it was crazy. i will take my camera next time i walk my dog. its crazy how much they tear into those trees. this tree was on its way out so i can imagine it was much softer than a live one like that.