Marne Titchenell Wildlife Program Specialist

School of Environment and Natural Resources

OHIO’S WOODPECKERS: FLICKERS, SAPSUCKERS, DOWNIES, AND MORE!

Ohio State University Extension

What Will We Talk About: – Amazing abilities of

woodpeckers

– Woodpecker Habitat

– The Life of a Woodpecker

– Ohio’s Woodpeckers

– Attracting Woodpeckers

The Woodpeckers: Nature’s Power Tools

– Highly specialized group of birds

• Nature’s power tools

• Carpenters of the bird world

• Specialize in cavity excavation

• Insect excavators

The Woodpecker Family

– Picidae • Piculets (2) • Wrynecks

‐ Genus Jynx • Picids

‐ Woodpeckers ‐ Sapsuckers

– US woodpeckers are picids • 22 species • 7 in Ohio

Diversity of Family Picidae

Smallest & Largest ‐ Worldwide Smallest & Largest – United States

Bar‐breasted Piculet

Imperial Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

The Ivory‐Billed Woodpecker Story

– Largest woodpecker north of Mexico

– Was found in mature forests in southeast US

– Believed to be extinct since mid‐1900’s

– Rediscovered in Arkansas, 2005

– Controversy over rediscover, still no agreement

The Woodpeckers: Very Specialized Family

– Avoiding brain damage

– Specialized beak

– Long tongue with modified tip

– Protected nostrils and eyes

– Short legs and strong toes

– Stiff tail feathers

– Protective coloring

– Large ribs for extra muscle attachment

The Woodpecker: World’s Best Shock Absorber

Strength and speed of impact:

• 100 times per minute • Speeds of 12‐15 mph • Force of 600‐1500 G’s • Decelerating after 1200 G’s =

coming to compete stop from 26,000 mph

– Human left with concussion after 100 G’s

– How do woodpeckers avoid brain damage on a daily basis??

The Woodpecker: World’s Best Shock Absorber

– Frontal bone in skull • Helps keep upper bill in place

– Cartilage for cushion • Extra between bill and skull to

absorb shock ‐ Protractor muscle

– Perfect aim • Each blow delivered straight on

(perfect right angle)

– Tiny padded brain • Brain lacks the mass to develop

enough inertia to cause damage • Brain placement in skull and 90

degree angle attack ‐ Shock wave travels below brain

A Little Extra Muscle Never Hurts

– Wider neck ribs for more muscle attachment

• More muscle to absorb shock and constantly drill, peck, hack, and whack!

That’s One Weird Looking Tongue!

– Tongue bone • Hyoid apparatus

‐ Long slender, flexible bones

‐ Serve as attachment site for muscles

‐ Longer tongue = more muscles = more extension and strength

Why are Woodpecker Tongues so Special?

– It’s on the tip of the tongue…

• Sensitive • Sticky • Hairy • Barbed

Specialized Beak

– Shape – Length – Size – Self sharpening

• Bony inner structure covered with durable, leathery sheath (ramphotheca) ‐ Constantly growing

• Like fingernails ‐ Constantly sharpened by

everyday abrasion

Safety Glasses and Nose Protection

– Feathers to protect nostrils and filter air

– Eyes tightly fit in skull

• Prevents injury during pecking

– Blink to protect eye

• Also serves as “seat belt”

– Well positioned eyes

• Will see predators when tree directly in front of them

• See quite well and in color

Strong Feet and Tail Feathers

– Amazing feet

• Zygodactyl toes ‐ Two toes forwards ‐ Two toes backward

– Tail feathers

• 3rd leg of the tripod

• Center 2 feathers longest and strongest ‐ Pointed tips, reinforced

shaft, strong interlocking barbs

‐ Molted last

Protective Clothing

– Disruptive Coloration • Helps to conceal from

predators • Sharp contrast breaks up

and hides shape and outline

Meet Ohio’s Woodpeckers!

Woodpecker Habitat Needs

– Trees a requirement

• For nesting and feeding • Larger the woodpecker,

larger the tree needed ‐ Pileated woodpecker

– Exception to the rule: ‘

• Gila Woodpecker ‐ Resides in southwest

deserts and into Mexico

Saguaro Cactus

Woodpecker Habitat Needs

– Food • Insects main food

‐ Eggs, larvae, adults ‐ Ants and beetles

• One flicker stomach had over 3,000 ants in it!

‐ Moths and butterflies ‐ Caterpillars

‐ Spiders

Woodpecker Habitat Needs

– Food • Bird eggs and nestlings

‐ Red‐bellied woodpecker

• Fruit (berries)

Oooo, a plane!

Woodpecker Habitat Needs

– Food • Acorns, seeds, nuts

‐ A few species will cache nuts over winter • Red‐headed woodpecker

Woodpecker Habitat Needs

– Acorn Woodpecker • Drills acorn sized holes into

trees ‐ Granary – primary tree for

each family ‐ Up to 50,000 holes each with 1

acorn

Woodpecker Habitat Needs

– Food

• Sap ‐ Yellow‐bellied

sapsucker ‐ Feed at sapwells

• Small holes pecked in neat rows

‐ Sap is about 20‐30% of their diet

• Other wildlife benefits

• Tree usually heals

Woodpecker Habitat Needs

– Food

• Sap ‐ Yellow‐bellied

sapsucker ‐ Feed at sapwells

• Small holes pecked in neat rows

‐ Sap is about 20‐30% of their diet

• Other wildlife benefits

• Tree usually heals

Woodpecker Habitat Needs

– Migration • Yellow‐bellied sapsucker

‐ Stopover in Ohio to feed and rest

– Rest of Ohio woodpeckers remain year round

Woodpecker Communication

‐ Calls not songs ‐ Single note repeated over and

over ‐ Most woodpeckers have

variety of calls

‐ Used for communication ‐ Territoriality ‐ Mating ‐ Alarm

‐ Drumming ‐ Also form of communication ‐ Mainly during breeding season

Woodpecker Breeding Season

– Starts with males securing territories in early spring • Large the bird = larger the

territory ‐ Downy – ½‐1 acre ‐ Pileated – 1‐2 sq. miles

– Cavity excavation • Most create their own • Flickers will use existing cavity

– Tree selection • Decaying tree or live tree

‐ Live trees can work for larger woodpeckers

Are you about done with that cavity?

Woodpecker Cavity Excavation

– Male begins excavation • Cavity preparation pair

bonding • Male does most of the

work • Can take 1‐3 weeks

‐ Pileated – 3‐6 weeks

– Entrance hole as small as possible • Clue to woodpecker

species ‐ Downy – 1 ¼” circle ‐ Pileated – 3½ x 4” oval

Woodpecker Reproduction

– Color of bird eggs VIP • Camouflage

– Woodpeckers lay white eggs • No camouflage needed

– Most only one brood a year • Hairy – 6 eggs • Red‐headed – 10 eggs

– Both parents incubate, feed, and raise young • Both have brood patches

Hatching Time!

Ohio’s Woodpeckers

Pileated Woodpecker

–Largest Ohio woodpecker (and US)

–Habitat • Large tract of mature

woods • Large trees for roosting • Carpenter ants, wood‐

boring insects and other invertebrates, & mast

Pileated Woodpecker

– Fairly common across range

Northern Flicker

– Pic Flamboyant (French) • Large, brown noisy,

animated, uniquely patterned woodpecker

– Habitat • Woodlands, forest edges,

& open fields with scattered trees, as well as city parks and suburbs

• Ground‐loving – ant eater, also beetles and other inverts, and mast ‐ Pecks soil for ants

Red Shafted ‐ Western

Yellow Shafted – East & North

Northern Flicker

–Widespread and common throughout range

Red Shafted ‐ Western

Yellow Shafted – East & North

Red‐bellied Woodpecker

– Despite name, red belly rarely visible

– Habitat • Most forests, woodlands,

and wooded suburbs of the eastern United States

• Insects, spiders, and other arthropods, mast, and sometimes lizards and nestling birds ‐ Barbed tongue with sticky

saliva

– Populations increasing throughout most of range

Red‐headed Woodpecker

– Bold patterns earned nickname – “flying checker board” • Males and females identical

– Habitat • Woodlands with oak or

beech, groves of dead or dying trees, and open areas (burned, harvested)

• 1/3 insect and 2/3 mast ‐ Seeds, berries, nuts ‐ Successful aerial hawkers juvenile

Red‐headed Woodpecker

– Once common throughout range, now uncommon and local in many regions • Nomadic

Yellow‐bellied Sapsucker

–Ohio’s only migratory woodpecker • April‐May except NE Ohio

–Habitat • Young forests and edge

habitat, esp. forests regenerating from timber harvesting

• Sap is primary food, but also insects (ants and spiders)

Yellow‐bellied Sapsucker

– Widest range of 4 species of sapsuckers in US • Populations stable, but

require young forests

Hairy Woodpecker

– Larger of 2 look‐alikes of Ohio woodpeckers • Hairy – larger, longer bill

and body ‐ Bill roughly as long as head ‐ All white outer tail feathers

– Habitat • Mature woodlands with

medium to large trees ‐ Urban and rural areas

• 75% diet is insects • Readily visits suet feeders

Can I help you with

something?

Hairy Woodpecker

– One of most widespread of all NA woodpeckers

Can I help you with

something?

Downy Woodpecker

‐ Smallest woodpecker in Ohio and US • Bill roughly 1/3 size of head • Black spots on white outer

tail feathers

‐ Habitat • Open woodlands,

particularly deciduous woods and along streams ‐ Rural and urban areas

• Diet mainly insects • Readily visits suet feeders

Downy Woodpecker

– Numerous across range with stable population numbers

Attracting Woodpeckers

– Trees a requirement • Dead or dying trees

‐ In multiple stages of decay

– Size of woodlot • Small – Downie, Hairy, Red‐

bellied • Larger – Pileated

– Nest boxes where cavities and snags lacking • Flickers

– Feeders • Especially in winter!

– Bird baths

Nuisance Woodpeckers

– Problems:

• Damage to building • Usually between June – Feb.

– Management Options: ‘

• Woodpeckers are protected by law ‐ Can not physically harm them

• Scare tactics • Window decals, reflective

materials (CDs, mylar tape), loud noises

• Netting ‐ Excludes woodpeckers

• Tactile repellents ‐ Birds don’t like sticky feet

Woodpecker helping trees, too!

– Alphabet soup for dinner! • EAB and ALB

‐ Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Longhorned Beetle

Online Resources

–Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Birds • www.allaboutbirds.org

– Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management • www.icwdm.org

–OSU Woodland Stewards • www.woodlandstewards.osu.edu

–Marne Titchenell • titchenell.4@osu.edu • 614‐292‐0402

Questions?

Ohio’s Woodpeckers: Flickers, Sapsuckers, Downies, and More!What Will We Talk About:The Woodpeckers: Nature’s Power ToolsThe Woodpecker FamilyDiversity of Family PicidaeThe Ivory-Billed Woodpecker StoryThe Woodpeckers: Very Specialized FamilyThe Woodpecker: World’s Best Shock AbsorberThe Woodpecker: World’s Best Shock Absorber A Little Extra Muscle Never HurtsThat’s One Weird Looking Tongue!Why are Woodpecker Tongues so Special?Specialized BeakSafety Glasses and Nose ProtectionStrong Feet and Tail FeathersProtective ClothingMeet Ohio’s Woodpeckers!Woodpecker Habitat NeedsWoodpecker Habitat NeedsWoodpecker Habitat NeedsWoodpecker Habitat NeedsWoodpecker Habitat NeedsWoodpecker Habitat NeedsWoodpecker Habitat NeedsWoodpecker Habitat NeedsWoodpecker CommunicationWoodpecker Breeding SeasonWoodpecker Cavity ExcavationWoodpecker ReproductionHatching Time!Ohio’s WoodpeckersPileated WoodpeckerPileated WoodpeckerNorthern FlickerNorthern FlickerRed-bellied WoodpeckerRed-headed WoodpeckerRed-headed WoodpeckerYellow-bellied SapsuckerYellow-bellied SapsuckerHairy WoodpeckerHairy WoodpeckerDowny WoodpeckerDowny WoodpeckerAttracting WoodpeckersNuisance WoodpeckersWoodpecker helping trees, too!Online Resources