Native Species Profile - Downy Woodpecker

Visit a woodland in Mid-Michigan during the right time of year and it is not uncommon to see six different species of woodpeckers that call the area home: the Pileated Woodpecker, Red-Bellied Woodpecker , Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and the most common of all, the Downy Woodpecker.  The Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) is the smallest woodpecker species in North America.  It typically measures 5.5 to 7 inches long and has a wingspan of 10 to 12 inches.  This small size allows it to live in a wide range of habitats across North America, being absent only in the desert Southwest and the arctic tundra.

The Downy Woodpecker is easy to identify.  They have a two-toned color scheme, with white on the underparts (chest and belly) and mostly black above.  The wings are black with white checkering.  Most of the tail feathers are black, with white feathers (with black checkering) on the outer edges of the tail.  There is a white stripe down the center of its back.  A Downy Woodpeckers head has a broad black stripe running over the top of its head, another broad black stripe that looks like a mask, and a narrower black stripe running downward from the corners of the beak.  With the exception of this stripe, the feathers at the base of the beak are white.  Males can be distinguished from females by a red patch on the back of their head - this is known as an occipital patch.  Downy Woodpeckers have a short stubby black beak.  The larger Hairy Woodpecker (P. villosus) has similar markings but is larger (8.5-10 inches long, 15-17.5 inch wingspan) and a longer beak.

Male Downy Woodpecker - note checkered wings, white back, striped face, and red occipital patch

Like most other woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers use their short beak as chisel to probe into dead or decaying wood for their favorite food source - insects and their larvae.  A large proportion of their diet consists of ants, beetles, and other woodboring insects.  They also consume spider and other invertebrates.  In addition, Downy Woodpeckers eat berries, seeds, and acorns.  They will rarely drink tree sap or nectar to supplement their diet.  Most of their foraging is done in trees, but they will feed on the ground.

Downy Woodpeckers are well adapted for their foraging style.  In addition to their chisel-like beak, they have a thick skull to cushion their skull when they use their beak to hammer at trees, and a long barbed tongue used to pull insects from tunnels in the wood.  Unlike perching birds (such as sparrows), the toes on woodpeckers are arranged with two pointing forward and two pointing backward.  This adaptation, known as zygodactylism, allows the woodpecker to climb easily up the trunks of trees and even hang upside down on branches that are beyond vertical.  Their stiff tail feathers are pushed against the tree's surface, acting as a counterbalance.

A Downy Woodpecker searches for insects and other invertebrates on a sumac tree

Downy Woodpeckers are a cavity nesting bird.  Because of their strong beak, they are able to excavate their own nesting cavities in decaying trees.  They typically use these homes for one nesting season before abandoning them.  These abandoned cavities provide nesting sites for other small birds such as bluebirds and swallows that are unable to excavate their own cavities.  Rarely, Downy Woodpeckers will nest in man-made nest boxes.  It attempting to attract woodpeckers to nest boxes, the box should be packed with woodshaving so that the woodpeckers can "excavate" the box tot heir satisfaction.

A female Downy Woodpecker works on a nesting cavity - note the lack of red on the back of the head

Basic Information

Downy Woodpecker
Picoides pubescens

Size:  5 ½-7” long,

          10-12” wingspan

Habitat:  woodlands (mainly deciduous), fencerows, wetlands, suburban areas

Eats:  insects, spiders, insect and spider eggs, other invertebrates, berries, seeds, acorns, rarely tree sap and nectar

Nest:  in tree cavity, rarely in a nesting box

Kicking Off a New Year

Happy 2016!

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of my first blog post.  When I started to write this blog, I didn't know where it would take me.  I just wanted to be able to answer questions that students ask me, to focus on local nature (plants, animals, geology, weather, etc.), and to occasionally highlight upcoming events in the local area.  I think overall I have kept to that goal, although I have expanded my scope and written posts about things as far afield as the UP, Wisconsin, and Maine.   My goal remains to highlight Mid-Michigan's habitats and wildlife.

Before I write a post I like to make sure that it is about something new and not a subject I have covered in the past.  Because I have written about so many different topics, this can sometimes be a challenge.  There are currently over 630 posts in the archives for this blog.

So what are people reading about here?

The five most popular posts in terms of pageviews have been: 

Leaves of three, let it be... What about leaves of five?   (published 26 FEB 2013 -  9,700 pageviews!)

Soil Particle Sizes - Sand, Silt, and Clay   (published 19 FEB 2014 -  with 3,575 pageviews)

Logging Tools Part 1 - Axe and Saw   (published 07 AUG 2013 -  with 2,968 pageviews)

Fungi!   (published 04 NOV 2013 -  with 2,638 pageviews)

Dogwood misidentification   (published 29 MAY 2013 -  with 1,607 pageviews)

Overall there have been  over 129,000 pageviews on this blog.  During each of the past two years, readership has climbed during the summer months and dropped off during the winter, with an all time high of 6,667 views in September 2015.  I think this can be attributed to more people spending time outdoors during the summer and researching the things that they find.

What's coming up in 2016?

I plan on doing another Wildflower Big Year like I did in 2014.  Not surprisingly, the more time I spend outdoors, the more interesting things I see and the more photographs I take.  I also plan on purchasing a new 100-400mm telephoto lens for my camera so I should be able to get better closeup photos of wildlife.  I also hope to be more consistent with posting - my goal is still to publish a post for every day that school is in session.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Favorite Photos of 2015

For each of the past two years I have shared my favorite photos from the year.  Here is the 2015 edition.  Enjoy.


Most of the photos that I take fall in one of two categories.  I am either trying to take a "pretty" picture or I am trying to document something (and don't care if the photo is "pretty").  A smaller portion of my photos fall into a third category - abstract.  These pictures show unique details or patterns (rock, bark, leaves, etc.).  This first image was taken on January 14th and shows broken shards of ice, refrozen into a new pattern, crossed over by animal tracks.  Is it "pretty"?  Maybe, but it's definitely unique.

I love photographing clouds and "bad" weather.  Dark clouds add so much drama to a landscape and their brooding nature can take a hum-drum image and make it something special.  This photo was taken at the Forest Hill Nature Area on March 26th.

Year End Gifts

My wife and I are lucky.  We have all of the things that we need and we make enough money to have most of the things that we want.  We even have some money left over to give to organizations that we believe in.  For many years we gave money to a number of national organizations, but in recent years we have focused our giving on several local organizations.

If you are reading this blog, it is probably plain to see that we care a lot about nature and the environment.  If you have any spare money and are looking to make a donation here are a couple of organizations that I know can will put the money to good use.

Chippewa Watershed Conservancy
The Chippewa Watershed Conservancy is our local land conservancy.  Their mission is to protect natural habitat and open space in the counties of the Chippewa River Watershed (includes the Chippewa, Pine, and Coldwater River).  The CWC operates in five Mid-Michigan counties: Isabella, Clare, Gratiot, Mecosta, and Montcalm.  They currently protect over 4,200 acres in those counties! That's over 6 1/2 square miles through a combination of privately owned conservation easements and Conservancy-owned preserves.

In addition to preserving land, the CWC works to educate the public about land and resource conservation, natural habitats, and the species that can be found throughout Mid-Michigan.  I donate my time as well as money - I lead many of the education walks such as this one coming up in January.  I like giving to the CWC because I know that the money will be used in the local community.  You can designate how you would like the CWC to use your money.  They are currently running a campaign to purchase the highest point in Isabella County as a preserve, but right now their operating budget is a higher concern.  The CWC receives much of its operating funds through grants from local foundations - their most recent grant request was tabled until the next giving cycle, putting the CWC in a deficit for the upcoming year.  Our most recent donation was toward the operating budget.

To donate to the CWC visit their website.

Wings of Wonder
Wings of Wonder (WOW) is a raptor sanctuary and rehabilitation center located in Empire, MI.  WOW rehabilitates and releases injured raptors across northern Michigan.  In addition to rehabilitating raptors for return to the wild, WOW houses a flock of Ambassador Birds that WOW founder and executive director Rebecca Lessard uses in raptor education programs across Michigan. Rebecca and the WOW birds have been to Mt. Pleasant each of the past two years to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day at the Ziibiwing Center.  They will be back again on Saturday May 14th for the 2016 celebration.

Wings of Wonder operates entirely on donations and presentation fees.  Every dollar that is donated goes directly toward the care of the Ambassador Birds and the care and rehabilitation of injured wild raptors.  Rebecca and the WOW board of directors (and volunteers) do an amazing job!  We are very happy to make an annual donation to support WOW.

To donate to WOW visit their website.

Let me tell you 'bout the frog and the snake...

I have lots of stories.  When I show one of my photographs in a classroom, I often have a story that goes along with it.  Unfortunately, many of my best stories don't translate well to the written form.  This is because my storytelling usually has a physical component - I don't just tell a story, I act it out.  So until the day that I become a better writer (not likely to happen), or I start to record videos of my stories (even less likely to happen), many of my stories can only be experienced in person.

There are a few, a very few, of my photographs that can almost tell the story on their own.  One example is this sequence of pictures from 2006.

I remember discovering this Common Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) struggling with a Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) in the woods at Mission Creek Woodland Park.

I have made a habit of discovering interesting things not only by sight, but also by smell and sound.  My attention was drawn to this pair by a horrible grunting squeak that I couldn't replicate if I tried.  It was not a sound that I usually hear in a forest or anywhere else for that matter.  It was so unique that I had to search for the source.  When I first spied the snake and frog in the leaf litter, the snake had a hold of a single hind leg of the frog.  This was enough...

 A garter snakes jaws are lined with many small needle-sharp teeth.  They help the snake get a grip on struggling prey.  By walking its jaws along the frog's body, it was quickly able to position the frog in the preferred head-first swallowing position.  The frog had no real defense for this - it tried to puff up its body to make itself to large to swallow, but the garter snake is an expert on frogs.

I think I will let the snake show you.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!  Regular posts will resume next week. 

The Shortest Day

Today (21 December) is officially the shortest day of 2015.  Mid-Michigan will only receive 8 hours 55 minutes 23 seconds of sunlight today - or we would if it wasn't supposed to rain all day.  From now until June 21st, the length of each day will lengthen until Mid-Michigan receives 15 hours 26 minutes 57 seconds of sunlight, at which point the length of days will again begin to decrease.  The days when the length of daylight is at its minimum and maximum are known as the solstices.

In honor of the Winter Solstice, the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy scheduled a sunrise walk for this morning at the Sylvan Solace Preserve west of Mt. Pleasant.  Unfortunately, the dreary weather limited interest in the event.  Nevertheless, a small group of four dedicated nature lovers made a walk around the property's River Loop trail. 

Trying to call a late-to-bed Eastern Screech Owl

Checking out a QR code

Observing the Chippewa River

Overcast skies hid the sunrise from view

A White-tailed Deer Skull along the trail

A close-up view of the deer skull

Looking along the River Loop trail

Pileated Woodpeckers have been hard at work

CWC intern Jonathon Breithaupt has an eye for debris

American Beech saplings hold tight to their leaves

A small colorful fungus or lichen covering a dead sapling