Bay Area Woodpeckers - Your Illustrated Guide To 7 Local Species

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

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.
————

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!

————-

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!