BARTON CREEK NEWS
B ARTON C REEK News for the Residents of Barton Creek March 2015
A DESCENT OF WOODPECKERS
N EWS
Volume 6, Issue 3
NATUREWATCH
by Jim and Lynne Weber Known for creeping up of trees, it most often nests in tall cactus in the western part of the tree trunks and drilling state, giving it the old name of ‘cactus woodpecker.’ Ladder-backed into wood to nest and woodpeckers feed on beetle larvae from small trees, but will also find food, woodpeckers eat prickly pear cactus fruits (tunas) and forage on the ground for are arboreal birds having insects. When gleaning for insects in trees, the larger male probes a vertical posture, rounded and pecks on trunks and larger limbs with his stouter bill, while the wings, a chisel-shaped female more often concentrates on gleaning bark surfaces on higher bill, shor t legs with branches and outer twigs. strong claws, and stiff tail The Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) also has feathers. These features a black and white barred back, but a creamy white to pale yellow enable them to climb, breast, a golden orange nape, and a small red cap on the male. A prey on insects, and feed bird found west of the Balcones Escarpment, in flight they show on nuts and fruits. white wing patches, a white rump, and a black tail, often calling as A woodpecker uses the glide from tree to tree. They its tail for support as it feed on insects, nuts (especially moves up a tree trunk. pecans), berries, acorns, and a S t i f f , p o i n t e d t a i l wide variety of other food items, Ladder-backed Woodpecker feathers reinforced with and only sometimes cache food (adult male) longitudinal ridges also in bark crevices. have small barbs that curve inward towards the tree, allowing the bird East of the Balcones Escarpment, to use its tail as a brace. Its feet are ‘zygodactyl’, meaning two toes the Red-bellied Woodpecker facing forward and two toes facing backward, which helps support (Merlanerpes carolinus) has a it when clinging to vertical surfaces. While all woodpecker bills are similarly patterned black and chisel-shaped, differences in curvature are based on the hardness white barred back, barred central of the species of wood it excavates as well as the hammering force tail feathers, and a namesake small it uses. Tongues are also specialized in that they are barbed, sticky, reddish patch or tinge on the belly and extremely long for the bird’s head, which reduces the amount that is often hard to spot. The of excavation required for foraging. males have a solid red crown and One of the most common and noticeable species of woodpecker in nape, while the females only have Golden-fronted Woodpecker our area is the Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris), which a red nape. Common in open (adult male) has a black and white barred back, spotted sides, and a face marked woodlands, suburban areas, and with black lines. The males also sport an extensive reddish crown, parks, these woodpeckers are often seen hitching along branches and while the female’s crown is black. While it can nest in several types Continued on page 7 Copyright © 2015 Peel, Inc.
Barton Creek News - March 2015
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