Morning sun

  

Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) and a Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) enjoying the morning sun in Santa Rosa today (6 January 2026).  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Among the oaks

  

A couple of quick shots from Crane Creek in the late afternoon today (4 February 2021).  Nuttall's Woodpecker (Dryobates nuttallii), above, and Brown Creeper (Certhia americana), below.

Winter berries

A couple of days ago, a large flock of robins and waxwings found a tree full of berries in our yard: 

 

Male American Robin (Turdus migratorius) — note the dark feathers on the head, and compare them to the female's paler head feathers (below):

 

 

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) — I liked how the yellow band at the tip of the tail blended in with the leaves. 

The activity also attracted another visitor that was interested in the berries:

 

Female Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) — females lack a red stripe on the face (while males have a red stripe).

To Catch an Acorn Thief

 

 

This afternoon we watched two striking Lewis's Woodpeckers (Melanerpes lewis) at Crane Creek Regional Park.

They spent some time hawking insects from the tops of trees — providing nice views in flight:

 

We also watched one of the woodpeckers feeding on cached acorns in an oak tree:

 

Then we noticed that someone else was interested in the acorns, too:

 

Did you spot the Oak Titmouse at the top of the picture?

Here's a different view of the two species in one photo.  Can you find the titmouse?

 

(The titmouse is just right of center at the bottom of the image.) 

It was interesting to watch the woodpecker and the titmouse interact.  The woodpecker would remove an acorn from a crevice, then bring it to the horizontal branch to break it into pieces.  Sometimes the woodpecker would fly off before it had finished the entire acorn, and the titmouse would be waiting to sneak out to the branch to steal some "crumbs."  But the woodpecker was vigilant and protective.  As soon as it realized the titmouse was near the branch, the woodpecker swooped down to chase the titmouse away. 

Sure, the woodpecker had done all the work of finding and caching the acorns in the first place.  And the titmouse was behaving like a thief (or kleptoparasite).  But watching this, it was hard not to root for the titmouse, at least occasionally.

Although most of the titmouse's attempts ended in failure, here's what happened at least once:

 

Yes!  The Oak Titmouse was successful in securing a piece of an acorn. 

It made us wonder — How much time does the titmouse spend trying to sneak in for "crumbs"?  How much time does the woodpecker spend trying to defend its cache?  It also made us appreciate how highly valued acorns must be.

P.S.  If you're interested in seeing the Lewis's Woodpeckers, try walking the Creek Trail at Crane Creek Regional Park in Santa Rosa.

 

What's for dinner?

 

This afternoon, I was watching this Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) eat fruit from a shrub at Crane Creek Regional Park in Santa Rosa.

I was intrigued because I couldn't remember if I had seen flickers feeding on fruit before.  They're primarily ant-eaters. 

Can you tell what type of fruit this flicker was feeding on?

Warning: The next picture will give away the answer.

Okay, here we go.  He was feeding on...

 

Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum)!  Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised.  But if you react to Poison Oak like I do, then you wonder how anything can get that close to it, never mind eat it!

Among the leaves and flowers

 

I had fun learning about Nuttall's Woodpeckers (Picoides nuttallii) today, 14 March 2015.  

I know some of you are familiar with this species, and some of you aren't.  If you have spent time with the similar Downy Woodpecker, some notable differences in Nuttall's include:

- black-and-white barring extending across the back (Downy's have a vertical white stripe)

- an extensive red patch on the back of the male's head (a male Downy's patch is smaller)

- some black spotting on the underparts (Downy's have none)

 

I watched this male Nuttall's Woodpecker foraging in an oak in Santa Rosa.  It spent most of its time among the new leaves and flowers.  I hadn't really watched a woodpecker do that before, so when I returned home, I read more about Nuttall's Woodpeckers and their feeding behavior.

It's true that Nuttall's Woodpeckers like oaks — especially Live Oaks, Valley Oaks, and Blue Oaks.

But it turns out that they're known for being different — i.e., they don't often peck wood vigorously and forage deep below the bark like many other woodpeckers.  Instead they tap gently from the side, probe near the surface, and glean from the surface itself.  Miller and Bock (1972) also observed that they spend a lot of time scanning foliage and twigs.

 

Nuttall's Woodpeckers eat insects (e.g., beetles, ants, bugs, caterpillars, etc.), and they also eat "vegetable matter" (e.g., seeds, berries, and flower buds).

Now this gets tricky.  Was this woodpecker eating oak flowers, or insects attracted to the oak flowers and leaves...or both?

Only the woodpecker knows...

 

P.S.  I'm not sure how to identify all of the local oaks yet.  My guess is that this is a Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), but please let me know if that's wrong.

P.P.S.  Facts above from the Birds of North America account by Lowther (2000), and Miller, A.H. and C.E. Bock.  1972.  Natural history of the Nuttall Woodpecker at the Hastings Reservation.  Condor 74: 284-294. 

 

Only the second -- Part 2

Okay, this time I didn't cheat.

 

I found a few minutes this morning to look for the Williamson's Sapsucker in Santa Rosa.  She was high up on the trunk of the tree, and very busy, but here are a few pictures for the record.

Note the brown head and extensive barring on the back.  Although a little fuzzy, the next picture is the best one that shows the partly black breast and the yellow belly.

 

I posted a picture of a male Williamson's Sapsucker (from Yosemite) a couple of nights ago.  When first discovered (scientifically), the male and female looked so different it was thought they were two different species. 

I learned that the females may winter at lower elevations than the males, and they may also use a greater diversity of habitats (according to the Birds of North America account).

I mentioned that this sapsucker was "very busy."  She was chipping bark off the tree to create sap wells.  You can see the results of her efforts in the image below where the reddish bark has been exposed.  The Birds of North America account reports that Williamson's Sapsuckers primarily eat sap and phloem fibers during the non-breeding season.

 

Here's one more picture — I just couldn't help including this action shot — of the sapsucker flinging a large piece of bark off the trunk:

 

A Williamson's Sapsucker in the morning, and a Patriots win in the evening — not a bad day!  ;)

P.S.  By the way, it appears that this sapsucker has been utilizing a Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara) — a tree native to the Himalayas (around 3,500-12,000 feet).  I'm not familiar with this tree, but I was interested to learn about it and its distribution, as Williamson's Sapsuckers are normally found at mid-high elevations (around 5,000-10,500 feet) during the breeding season.

Only the second

Well, this is cheating a little bit.  But I thought it would be fun to share the news that this species has been seen in Santa Rosa during the last two days.  I haven't been able to go see it, but I have pictures of this species from Yosemite in October 2014.

 

Although my pictures show a male Williamson's Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus), the individual observed in Santa Rosa on 29-30 January 2015 is a female (and they look quite different).

This woodpecker is normally found in coniferous forests at higher elevations.  The recent sighting in Santa Rosa is only the second time a Williamson's Sapsucker has been documented in Sonoma County!

Here's one more view of this very striking woodpecker:

 

Feather puzzle #2

These are the first feathers I found (below).  They were scattered on the ground, but I lined them up for the photo.   

Do you have a guess about which species of bird they belong to? 

The largest feather is about 4.5 cm (1.75 inches) long and the smallest is about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long.

 

The patterning on the feathers made me think of one group of birds, but I couldn't be certain.  So I looked around for more clues.  

I finally found a different type of feather and it surprised me a bit.  I was right about the family, but I hadn't yet considered the species.

The next photo might give the answer away, so if you want to keep trying with the first feathers, don't scroll down until you're ready.

And this is what it looked like when I flipped it over:

 

Scanning around, I found one other feather type:

 

Did you guess Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)?  

The bright yellow coloration gives it away — although some of you probably know that the more common form of Northern Flicker in this area has red or salmon coloration on its feathers instead of yellow.

The next question is, what types of feathers are these, especially the first ones?  Can you picture where they might be found on a flicker?

The smaller, black-and-white feathers are uppertail-coverts.  The Birds of North America account includes a great description of them: "Uppertail-coverts are diversely patterned, white with black bars, chevrons, 'horseshoes,' or other marks (Short 1982)."

The middle photos highlight a long, pointed tail feather dominated by yellow on its underside.

And the last photo is a secondary feather — one of the inner wing feathers.

Unfortunately, I realized that I don't have a good picture of a Northern Flicker.  :/  But you can see all three feather types in these illustrations:

Northern Flickers by Roger Tory Peterson

Northern Flicker account by National Geographic

Those first feathers had my mind twirling.  That was a fun puzzle!

P.S.  I read that possible predators of flickers include accipiters (e.g., Cooper's Hawks), Red-shouldered Hawks, and Northern Harriers.

 

Peering and probing

 

Before we left Yosemite yesterday, we went on a short walk in the Mariposa Grove.  Along with the trees (which I'll talk about later), there were a few bird highlights.

I've hardly spent any time in the Sierras, so this was my first time seeing this striking black-and-white woodpecker typically associated with montane forests dominated by pines (especially Ponderosa Pines).

White-headed Woodpeckers (Picoides albolarvatus) are known for their dominantly jet black plumage, although in the right light you could see glossy bluish feathers (similar to ravens):

 

I read more about this species when I returned to the coast and learned that their diet includes pine seeds and invertebrates.  According to the Birds of North America account, White-headed Woodpeckers often feed on tree trunks that are furrowed or plated (containing lots of fissures).  And these woodpeckers are known for peering and probing, and flaking and gleaning, rather than hammering and boring into the bark.  The following images illustrate the peering and probing behaviors:

 

 

 

You probably noticed the small red spot (formally called a nuchal patch) on the back of this individual's head, indicative of a male.  Here's a better view of it:

 

We actually saw two woodpeckers, and the first was a female, lacking the red nuchal patch.  She was foraging in a place that made her more difficult to photograph, but I think it's still a decent comparison (see below).  Observations suggest that White-headed Woodpecker pairs remain together year-round.

 

What a way to end our trip — watching White-headed Woodpeckers weave their ways across wide trunks in wondrous woods!

Red-bellied (or not)

I don't have much time tonight, but I can't resist showing a couple of photos.  I took these images through a window, so they're a little fuzzy, but it's still easy to appreciate this striking woodpecker.

 

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) at a suet feeder in Massachusetts on 25 February 2013.

This is a male, with red coloration extending over the top of the head to the base of the bill.  Females would only have red on the nape (the back of the head).  It's true that the "red belly" is very difficult to see and is not at all visible in these photographs.  

Although its core distribution is in the southeastern U.S., this species has been extending its range northward and westward.  I don't think there are any records for California yet, but correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't have any references with me right now. 

Here's another image showing how well the black-and-white striped patterning on the back blends in with the bark of a pine tree.

 

 

"Specialized for sipping sap"

During the last couple of days, I've looked out the window (in Sebastopol) to see a sapsucker (Sphyrapicus sp.) on a Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) tree in our yard.  I can't tell you how many times I tried to go out and get a photo, without success.  The sapsucker was extremely watchful.  As soon as I approached, it went around to the opposite side of the trunk, peeked to see if I was still there, and then quickly moved to the top of the tree.

I finally managed a couple of shots (see below), at least to serve as a record.  

 

 

The tree is riddled with rows of sap wells — shallow holes in the bark created by the sapsucker.  

 

Although Sweetgum isn't native to California (it's planted as an ornamental), I've read that it's a favorite sapsucker food source.  I was looking at the holes and noticed the sap was actively running (see amber-colored spots in next photo).

 

A sapsucker spends a lot of time excavating and maintaining these sap sources.  And sapsuckers are "specialized for sipping sap," with brush-like tongues (Walters et al. 2002).  Once made available by the sapsucker, this sugary fluid is also visited by other birds, insects, and mammals.

When I looked out the window the next time, a small bird was flitting around the trunk where the sapsucker had been working.  I thought it was a chickadee at first, but then realized it was a hummingbird hovering near the sap wells.  (Apparently, some hummingbirds are so interested in this sap resource that they'll make their nests near "sapsucker trees" and they'll follow sapsuckers during the day.)

It was raining and very dark under the dense tree canopy, but I decided to try again.  I went out and "hid" by a nearby tree trunk.  The sapsucker was too wary, but the hummingbird returned and I got lucky with this shot (I think it's a female Anna's Hummingbird):

 

You may have noticed that I haven't identified the species of sapsucker.  I think it might be a Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber).  However, there seems to be more black on the back of the head than I'd expect, so I also wondered if it could be a hybrid Red-breasted Sapsucker x Red-naped Sapsucker.  If you have any thoughts about this, I'd love feedback about this bird's identity.

If you're interested in trying to figure this out, I've included a couple more views (below).