Bay Area Woodpeckers - Your Illustrated Guide To 7 Local Species

August 31, 2007 on 3:18 am | In Daily Local Birder | 4 Comments

Greetings Birders!
No matter how hot the weather may feel, I know that fall is just around the corner when the woodpeckers wake up from their summer silence and begin to make themselves known once again in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nuttall’s Woodpecker seems to blast the first coming-of-fall fanfare in our part of Sonoma County in the North Bay. Acorn woodpeckers aren’t far behind. Within weeks the orchards, woodlands, creeksides and backyards are places to glimpse startling darts of black-and-white wing, red crest, gleaming eye. With the exception of the Red-breasted Sapsucker, all of the birds in this guide are year-round Bay Area residents, but you’d never know it until summer begins to wane and woodpecker excitement begins!

This illustrated guide to your local woodpeckers will provide you with basic stats about each of the 7 birds and links to further information, where available. I have sized the woodpecker images to give a visual representation of their relative, respective lengths from beak to tail. Bookmark this special edition post of the Birding Sonoma County Blog for quick bird identification reference in the months to come…months that will be filled with wonderful woodpeckers!

Downy Woodpecker
Picoides pubescens
6.75″ L

With his small bill and marshmallow fluff back, the Downy Woodpecker is arguably the dearest of all our local woodpeckers. He is incredibly agile amongst the tree branches and trunks, and you may even spot him foraging amongst weeds. His drumming is short and somewhat slow. It’s surprisingly audible for such a small woodpecker when you are standing nearby. The call is a very soft pick, and there is also a descending, thin rattle.

The female lacks the red crown of the male. Downy Woodpeckers nest in hollows in trees, and lay 4-7 white eggs.

Where to see the Downy Woodpecker in the Bay Area
Riparian habitat is a favorite of the Downy Woodpecker, as is the case with most woodpeckers. Nearly any creek with a growth of mixed trees is a likely spot to spot this bird. Try the creek at Willowside Road in Santa Rosa. If you have trees in your own yard, don’t be surprised if this smallest of all woodpeckers pays you a visit in the coming months. Read more about the Downy Woodpecker.

Nuttall’s Woodpecker
Picoides nuttallii
7.5″ L

Often mistakenly identified as a Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Nuttall’s Woodpecker features bold, horizontal striping all down his back. Ladder-backed woodpeckers do not live in the San Francisco Bay Area, but Nuttall’s Woodpecker is one of our most common woodpeckers. Both males and females possess the striped pattern that makes identification so easy. Only the male, however, has the crimson crown near the back of his head. Note the beautiful facial stripes, as well.

Chances are, you will hear Nuttall’s Woodpecker before you see him. His metallic, drill-like call can quickly help you zone in on his location. His drumming is not notably loud, but is fairly lengthy. His movements are quick and agile, and birders are always delighted to see Nuttall’s Woodpeckers appear to defy gravity by scaling along the undersides of horizontal branches.

Nuttall’s Woodpeckers tend to pick nesting holes excavated in oaks and cottonwoods, and 3-6 white eggs are common.

Where to see Nuttall’s Woodpecker in the Bay Area
Any stream with oak trees or cottonwoods present is a good bet for sighting this bird. However, rural neighborhoods throughout the North Bay play host to countless Nuttall’s Woodpeckers and if you only keep your eyes open, this is an easy woodpecker to check off your lifelist. Try the mixed forests of Sugarloaf State Park in Kenwood, California if you’ve yet to see a Nuttall’s Woodpecker. Read more about Nuttall’s Woodpecker.

Red-breasted Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus ruber
8.5″ L

North American sapsuckers have their own genus (Sphyrapicus), but one look at this fabulous bird is enough to explain why American bird guides group sapsuckers in with woodpeckers. Like woodpeckers, sapsuckers use their stiff tails to keep them propped up while clinging to tree bark and their bills are powerful borers. The Red-breasted Sapsucker is one of our absolute favorite birds, with his stunning crimson head and intelligent eyes. He is a birding bird, spending long moments simply observing the other bird species around him.

Note the broad white patch along the front of his shoulder, and the somewhat blurry white markings on his back. His bill is incredibly strong, and he drills rings in concentric circles around the trunks of trees, and then uses his long tongue to extract sap and insects. He is often trailed by smaller insect-eating birds such as Ruby-crowned Kinglets, who are hoping to take second helpings from the Red-breasted Sapsucker’s numerous excavations.

Unlike the six other woodpecker-type birds in this birding guide, the Red-breasted Sapsucker is only with us during the cold months of the year. Sapsuckers nest in hollows in dead trees and lay 4-7 white eggs.

Where to see the Red-breasted Sapsucker in the Bay Area
Bird guides tend to list the Red-breasted Sapsucker as an inhabitant of mixed forests, but we associate this bird with fruit trees. If you happen to have an apple tree in your yard, you may just be lucky enough to get to study this wonderful and unusual bird at home. We do not consider the Red-breasted Sapsucker to be a common bird in the Bay Area, so you’ll need to have serendipity with you to check him off your lifelist. Read more about the Red-breasted Sapsucker.

Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus
9″ L

For his industry alone, the Acorn Woodpecker deserves renown. When the acorns are ready to harvest, a single bird may drill hundreds or thousands of holes in a tree and fill each one with an acorn. Acorn Woodpeckers aren’t picky. They will turn telephone poles and wooden building frames into pantries, too!

Sibley’s birding guide refers to the facial pattern of the Acorn Woodpecker as “clownish”, and I have to agree. The male’s yellow and black face with a fire red crown is almost shocking to see up close. His movements seem almost mechanical, as if he were a puppet or an automaton. His eager eyes are a vibrant yellow, and his powerful beak is a tool of tremendous value to him.

Acorn Woodpeckers nest in colonies, laying 4-5 white eggs in a hole in a tree. All members of the colony share in the excavation, and in raising the young. Oddly, it has been suggested that the massive food storing habits of these birds are merely meant to preserve the life of the colony in case of emergency - Acorn Woodpeckers are largely insectivorous, but in case of a cold, harsh winter, they are quite prepared to survive on nuts.

Where to see the Acorn Woodpecker in the Bay Area
The obvious answer here is that Acorn Woodpeckers may be seen in almost any part of the Bay Area where there are oak trees. For an almost guaranteed sighting, visit the colony of Acorn Woodpeckers in Annadel State Park. Take Highway 12 east of Santa Rosa, turn left on Lawndale Road, and park in the small parking lot of the foot of the Annadel State Park trail access. Just above the parking lot, on the trail, you will see a very obvious dead tree. Hang about for five minutes or so, and you will be almost certain to catch sight of the noisy antics of the resident colony here. Note especially the extremely loud wake up, wake UP, WAKE UP! call of these unusual, yet common, woodpeckers.

Hairy Woodpecker
Picoides villosus
9.25″ L

We know that birders have sighted the Hairy Woodpecker in the Bay Area, and respected birding guides list them as being year-round residents here, so we are including them in this woodpecker guide, but must confess that we have never sighted a Hairy Woodpecker locally. We were fortunate enough to witness several pairs of these birds in Calaveras County in eastern California on our most recent birding vacation, and they were fantastic. If you know of a likely local spot to see the Hairy Woodpecker, please do comment here and share it with us.

We had always been concerned that we might not be able to tell the difference between a Downy Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker. Compare the two bird illustrations I have created for you here, and you will see why these two species always give new birders pause. The markings are almost identical, but take our word for it - when we saw our first Hairy Woodpecker, we immediately knew it was no Downy! Large, powerful, and long-billed, the Hairy Woodpecker is a unique and easily identified bird when you see it in person.

In addition to being such a good sized, showy fellow, the Hairy Woodpecker is extremely vocal, and we witnessed the pairs we saw greeting each other with rapid series of notes and rattles. Hairy Woodpeckers do not excavate their own nesting holes, preferring to find homes built by other excavating birds. 3-6 white eggs are laid on a bed of wood chips inside the nesting hole.

Where to see the Hairy Woodpecker in the Bay Area
You tell us. We would love to hear from you if you know where to find these marvellous woodpeckers. Our birding guides indicate that they prefer mature forests, and this certainly agrees with our own experience of encountering the Hairy Woodpecker in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Read more about the Hairy Woodpecker.
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UPDATE TO HAIRY WOODPECKER INFO!
Expert birders Lillian and Don Stokes have been kind enough to share with me that the above information from the Audubon Bird Guide regarding Hairy Woodpeckers not excavating their own nesting holes is incorrect. Don and Lillian have seen Hairy Woodpeckers excavating nesting holes many, many times. Thanks to them for the correction!

Additionally, within days of writing this guide, we saw our very first Hairy Woodpecker in Sonoma County, CA. What a funny coincidence. He was a big, beautiful male, and was on a dead tree near the Lawndale Road entrance to Annadel State Park near the village of Kenwood. He was sharing his roost with a Nuttall’s Woodpecker, and his larger size immediately gave away the fact that we were not seeing a Downy. What a neat accomplishment to finally see this bird in the Bay Area!

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Northern Red-shafted Flicker
Colaptes auratus
12.5″ L

You are quite right if you have noticed that the Red-shafted Flicker looks nothing like any of the other woodpeckers on our local list. It’s only when you take a look at an extensive North American bird guide and see birds such as the Gila Woodpecker or the Red-bellied Woodpecker that you realize that not all woodpeckers are black and white. The beautiful bronze sheen of the Northern Red-shafted Flicker’s wings and his remarkable stripes and spots are unique in the Bay Area birding scene.

The Northern Red-shafted Flicker is a large, substantial bird with a powerful bill. We call him the ‘helping bird’ because the holes he excavates provide homes for so many other wild birds. In flight, the Northern Red-shafted Flicker always delights the birder with his unexpected display of salmon pink underwings. What a surprise!

The Northern Red-shafted Flicker excavates his nesting holes in trees or posts, and 5-10 white eggs are common. He does a fabulous imitation of a Red-tailed Hawk, kyaar, and a repetitive flicker, flicker, flicker call, which wins him his distinctive name.

Where to see the Northern Red-shafted Flicker in the Bay Area
This is a very common bird. The Northern Red-shafted Flicker has adapted to both deciduous and evergreen forests, open country, and desert. There are vast numbers of these birds in Jack London State Park in Glen Ellen, California during the cold months of the year. Read more about the Northern Red-shafted Flicker.

Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
16.4″ L

King of the woodpeckers, king of the forest, the magnificent Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. The potential rediscovery of the similar Ivory-billed Woodpecker does put this claim of being biggest in question, but for certain, the Pileated Woodpecker is the mightiest woodpecker you will ever see in the Bay Area. With his long neck, flaming crest, and beautiful striped face, the Pileated Woodpecker fills the birder with awe, no matter how often he is sighted.

There is something almost eerie about walking through a quiet wood when the silence is abruptly disturbed by the deafening, jackhammer drilling of this powerful fowl. His excavations echo throughout the forest, leaving you in no doubt as to his presence and sovereignty. His rapid, mechanical calls come down to you from the canopy, as you eagerly try to spot him amongst the branches. It is always amazing to us how well this large woodpecker can conceal himself when he wants to, but catch him in flight and you will never forget the stunning sight.

Both male and female Pileated Woodpeckers have a red crest, but the male’s extends all the way forward to the bill, and is accompanied by a red cheek stripe. Pileated Woodpeckers excavate their holes in trees and lay 3-5 white eggs. Don’t be surprised if you suddenly flush these birds up from the ground when you are walking in the woods. They feed on the insects that live in fallen trees.

Where to see the Pileated Woodpecker in the Bay Area
I will again recommend the mixed woods of Jack London State Park in Glen Ellen, California, as a likely place to see these unforgettable woodpeckers. The hallmarks of good Pileated Woodpecker territory are old forests with old trees and plenty of fallen logs. Read more about the Pileated Woodpecker.

In Conclusion
Birding Sonoma County hopes that this guide will be of lasting use to you for many years to come. We feel that woodpeckers add such a special pleasure to birding. Their activity and their beauty is a gift to behold.

We would greatly appreciate it if our readers would contribute to this guide by leaving comments. Though we do set out birding all over the Bay Area, we know our own corner of this region best. We want to know where you are seeing woodpeckers. Do you know of a surefire spot for sighting one or more of the seven species in this guide? Please take a moment to share that with all of our readers!

White Buffalo, Inc. - Animal Abuse, Point Reyes Fallow Deer, Local Horror

August 9, 2007 on 2:41 am | In Sonoma County Wildlife | 4 Comments

Marin County, California
August 2007

Point Reyes National Seashore Superintendent Don Neubacher welcomed animal exterminators, White Buffalo Inc., to our local seashore at the end of July. West Marin locals are seeing the helicopters, seeing Fallow and Axis does with ear tags and collars, and seeing large storage containers that will hold the bodies of the 1000 mother deer that White Buffalo will rocket-net, shoot, and captive-bolt over the next three summers. Locals are outraged at the intrusion of violence in their once-peaceful park and Trinka Marris of Friends of The White Deer states,

“The number of 1000 is misleading. The public needs to understand that killing the does will result in hundreds or thousands of orphaned fawns dying a horrible death of slow starvation. The NPS is choosing not to count these baby fawns’ death when they give the number ‘1000′.”

This is fawn season. Visitors to Marin may just have the chance, if they are very lucky, to glimpse one of the white or speckled fawns that have just been born this year. The above photograph, taken by photographer Trish Carney, shows the beauty and defenselessness of these baby animals. I am writing this article here to voice my own horror, and the horror of the people of Marin over the fact that these innocent baby animals are about to witness their mothers, sisters and aunts murdered in the following way by White Buffalo Inc.’s brutal gunmen:

“White Buffalo will bait deer, trap them in a net, and then kill them with a captive bolt (the same instrument used in slaughterhouses). A video taken in Illinois shows netted deer wildly struggling to escape. Then a person sits on a deer, another holds her head, and a third fires a 4-inch captive bolt into her brain. While each deer is being wrestled and killed, the others frantically continue to struggle as they watch and hear their companions dying, only to await the same fate.”

In addition the abuse documented here, many of the does will be shot at and will wander the seashore, perhaps gutshot or crippled, bleeding to death. If White Buffalo Inc.’s gunmen manage to capture a shot deer, their policy is to suffocate it by putting a plastic bag over its head.

If this cruelty to animals occurred anywhere outside of government lands, the perpetrator would be sued by the Marin Humane Society with a very good chance of being convicted of a serious crime.

I am a birder, and you, my valued readers, are also birders. If spending all of those hours in nature, watching our feathered fellow creatures has taught us one thing, it is that the animals with whom we share the planet are beings of dignity and wonder. I am sickened to the heart to know the fate that is currently meeting the gentle Fallow and Axis Deer of the Point Reyes National Seashore. I am sickened by the cruelty and stupidity of mankind.

Bambi was a cartoon; these deer are actually living beings

I have been appalled by the coverage most of the local newspapers have given to the plight of the Fallow and Axis Deer of Point Reyes National Seashore. In their strivings to hit on a catchy title for their editorials and articles, journalists working for the Press Democrat, The Marin Independent, The San Francisco Chronicle and the Point Reyes Light have repeatedly likened the local deer to Disney’s cartoon Bambi.

And they aren’t saying, “Didn’t anyone realize how horrible it was that Bambi’s mother was shot?”

Their tone is, “Well, wow, it’s just like Bambi. Aren’t I clever to have noticed that?”

The Bambi cartoon has traumatized countless children, despite it’s unrealistic attempt to make it all seem okay that Bambi’s mother was killed, because, after all, then Bambi makes friends with a rabbit and some other cute and cuddly creatures of the forest.

In real life, it will not happen that way for the orphaned fawns who will starve to death once their mothers are dead. I am completely disgusted to realize that journalists are so out of touch with even the most remote concept of respect for life that they can trivialize the trauma and pain of a living, breathing baby creature by glibly comparing it to a cartoon. Shame on each one of them for this inhumane attitude towards wild animals.

But Hunting’s An Old Time-Honored Tradition, Ain’t It?
White Buffalo Inc’s gunmen are not hunters. Hunters are the Aleutians who kill whales with spears so that their families can eat. Once upon a time, hunters were people like Pa in the Little House on the Prairie series of books about pioneer life. Men like Pa shot only enough animals to feed their wife and children. They shot stags…not does and fawns in fawn season! Hunting was a practice developed by humans in order to survive…to have something to eat. Hunting is not a sport. Hunting is not a business.

For the record, I am a vegetarian. I have not eaten meat in more than 15 years. I am ethically opposed to any type of killing of animals. However, I am also quite aware that in many parts of the world, native peoples still rely on hunting as their primary food source. I may feel sadness over the Aleutian killing of whales up in the far north, but I get it…this is how these people survive and they’ve lived like this for centuries.

This is at the opposite end of the spectrum from camouflage-draped men shooting firearms from helicopters in order to brutally eliminate thousands of deer at a time. These are not hunters. They are violent, twisted people. The president of White Buffalo compares killing deer to brushing his teeth and is eager to tell reporters how much he enjoys his job.

What kind of a person takes satisfaction in the screams of defenseless animals while bolts are being shot into their brains? What kind of a person is that?

White Buffalo Leaving A Guilty Trail of Blood Across the United States

They ride into your town under government protection, in case some hippy might wave a “Please don’t shoot my friends” sign at them. They meet with the press and talk about what great shots they all are and how professional, efficient and humane they are. They talk about the great hunting life they lead. The press prints the standard propaganda for you and your neighbors to read. They tell you they’ll be giving the meat to the homeless, so everyone can feel better about it.

Then the shooting starts.

White Buffalo’s policy is to keep times and places for shootings a secret, but the word always seems to leak out. Suddenly, people are finding baby fawns keeling over in their backyards. Children are screaming over stumbling upon the bloody, half-dead body of a deer. You and your neighbors are threatened with arrest if you so much as try to take a single photo of the carnage.

Maybe the homeless do receive some of the meat, but most of the dead mothers are left to rot in the fields. White Buffalo is securely escorted from the town with many thanks from the NPS, and the people, the animals and the land are left reeling from a trauma that will never heal.

What is happening in Marin, California has happened in Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut and a growing number of states across our country, always at the request of park officials, and always against the consensus of local citizens. It’s a terrible, sickening pattern and Marin is only the newest town on White Buffalo’s woeful list.

The Final Insult, or, What’s In A Name?
My husband and I are both proud to have partly Native American ancestry. We honor the way our ancestors existed within an environment, rather than viewing themselves as somehow outside of it. I want to state, as a woman with Native American heritage, that I am personally offended by the name of this company - White Buffalo, Inc.

From their website at whitebuffaloinc.org:

“Native American legend tells of the White Buffalo Woman who offered a sacred pipe to a Dakota tribe, explaining that the pipe symbolized that all things were connected. Its purpose was to remind people of their tie to nature, what nature gives and what should be done in return.”

What? What is this? Is what we are supposed to give in return the wholesale, inhumane slaughter of some of nature’s most fragile and lovely creatures? I was stunned reading this statement. It is so insulting that this company would dare to use a Native American legend to describe their behaviour.

And, just for the record, the version of the White Buffalo legend I know goes like this:

Once White Buffalo Woman appeared to two men. The first man was disrespectful to her and tried to harm her. She turned him into a pile of bones. The second man was respectful, so she gave him a pipe and taught him special music.

If my Powhatan Indian ancestors were only alive today, I am sure they would find it hard to keep the sarcasm out of their voices as they explained to White Buffalo Inc. the actual fate of the bad man who harmed nature. I can hardly believe the irony of White Buffalo Inc.’s selective twist on this old story and they have wound up looking very foolish in doing this.

The Fate of Nature
Every time I sit down to add a new blog post to this birding blog, I am trying to share my deep love of wild creatures with you. Today, I am sharing my sadness and outrage. If you share my feelings, please, take the time to visit the following website:

Friends of the White Deer

Please visit Trish Carney’s Flickr photo set to view her photographic documentation of the fallow deer of the Point Reyes National Seashore.

Cooper’s Hawk - A Fine But Fearsome SF Bay Area Raptor

August 6, 2007 on 12:43 am | In Daily Local Birder | 2 Comments

Greetings Birders!
Well, birding has been a bit on the quiet side since the heat of summer set in on us here in Sonoma County. Sure, the California Quail are still making their evening promenade through the cool grass, and some of our migratory visitors are still in evidence if you know where to look, but the the rapture of spring is past and the flurry of fall has yet to begin.

Just when we thought things had gotten sedate in the local birding world, we found ourselves face to face with a long-sought raptor - Cooper’s Hawk!

What a thrill to spot this awesome bird of prey, perched on a wire over Hwy 12 near the residential community of Oakmont, just east of Santa Rosa, CA. You can bet we pulled the car over fast, leapt out of our seats and rushed through a bunch of extremely painful starthistle nettles to zone our birding binoculars in on this fabulous fowl!

You will DEFINITELY know it’s not a Red-shouldered Hawk
In Sonoma County, our 2 most common hawks are the of the genus Buteo. These common fellows are the big Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, and the Hallowe’en-colored Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus. Most of the time when you see a hawk as you’re driving around Sonoma County, it’s going to be one of these two birds. Yet, Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooperii, is also a year-round resident. Note that he’s not a Buteo. Cooper’s hawk is of the genus Accipiter…a whole different branch of the birds of prey! If you’re used to the Red-tails and Red-shoulders, Cooper’s Hawk will immediately stand out as a very different looking raptor to you. Let’s compare him to the Red-shouldered hawk here, just to illustrate how different the fieldmarks of the adult birds are.

Yes, both of these birds feature that beautiful rust coloration on the chest, but note how the orange color goes right over the Red-shouldered Hawk’s head and shoulders. By contrast, the distinctive slate-colored cap of the Cooper’s Hawk gives the bird’s head a much darker appearance.

Now compare the wings and tails of the two birds. I call the Red-shouldered Hawk Hallowe’en-colored because of how his checkered black-and-white feathers contrast with the orange. By contrast, the slate of the Cooper’s Hawk’s head continues all down the back of his neck, shoulders, wings and tail. There is a striping of two grey tones on his tail, but it is not nearly as pronounced as the black and white tail of the Red-shouldered Hawk.

The two birds are of comparable size, with the 17″ Red-shouldered being perhaps an inch or so larger than Cooper’s, on average. The shape of the birds is markedly different, however. The Red-shouldered hawk looks somewhat like a well-fed teddy bear. He is stocky and sturdy looking. When I saw the Cooper’s Hawk this week, I was immediately struck by what a slender overall shape he had. I’d never seen such a slim-looking raptor before. His amazingly long tail only adds to his streamlined appearance. The tail-length is something that really stands out about this interesting bird - no other local hawk has such a long one.

Both birds have bright yellow legs, but Cooper’s Hawk has glowing red eyes! Be sure to notice them when next you see this less common local raptor. Yet, even the major field marks of head color and wing/tail color are likely to be plenty to let you know you are spotting Cooper’s Hawk and not the regular old Red-shouldered.

Further field notes on Cooper’s Hawk
Birds of prey thrill me. They are exciting to me in a way that is different from the joy I feel over seeing a warbler or a wren. Their majesty and powerful flight are awesome to behold. Yet, all the same, I know I can only have this appreciation of local raptors because I am a human being. When Cooper’s Hawk left his perch on the electric wire and flew directly over our heads, I was aware of being very glad that I’m not a little songbird. Yes - I’m afraid that little birds are the mainstay of Cooper’s Hawk’s diet. In fact, backyard birders often spot their first Cooper’s Hawk next to the birdfeeder. Yikes! Nature’s ways aren’t always pretty and I confess to feeling sad about the fear small birds must feel when they sense the shadow of this enemy slipping toward them.

Once the Cooper’s hawk was out of sight on Hwy 12 this week, the air was suddenly filled with goldfinches, house finches and doves, all coming out of hiding, relieved to be okay. The world of birds is full of rather heart-thumping moments like these. You realize this, the longer you watch.

In addition to making appearances in suburban areas, Cooper’s Hawks tend to inhabit riverside and forrest terrain. They build bark-lined nests of sticks on a platform and 3-5 blue eggs are common. Immature birds are a combination of brown and white and harder to identify than the adults.

Keep your eyes on the skies. If you see that beautiful slate and orange combination in a long-tailed hawk, chances are it’s Cooper’s!