The Downy Woodpecker

Several days ago I bought a new 300mm telephoto lens. I've been eager to try it out, and December 21st was just the day to do so. I traveled out to a few local parks, including the newer Mary Virginia Crites-Hannan Park right outside of Circleville in Pickaway County. Although a smaller park, there's a decent patch of second-growth forest and a nice prairie they planted about four or five years ago. It's a really birdy park too, which brings me to the subject of this post. There were at least two Downy Woodpeckers in the small area I explored and I was able to get a few photos of them.

Downy Woodpeckers, Picoides pubescens, are probably the most common woodpecker species in the United States. They can essentially be found from coast to coast and everywhere in between, aside from some desert regions like western Texas, Arizona, and smaller parts of southern California and Nevada. They inhabit a range of forest types and even open areas where they will feed upon insects found on small herbaceous plants. Downy Woodpeckers are nearly identical to the Hairy Woodpecker, but there are a few differences to look for in the field. A big one is the size; Downy's are only about 2/3 of the size of a Hairy. Another is beak length; a Hairy Woodpecker's beak is about the same length as its head, but a Downy's beak is much smaller (as you can see above). You can read about some of the other differences here. In Ohio, when you come across a Downy/Hairy woodpecker, it's much more likely to be a Downy. Hairy's are not rare by any means though.

Woodpeckers are well-adapted to their bark-clinging lifestyles. If you look at the photo above, you can see a Downy's large feet with large, curved claws; this helps with clinging to bark. Woodpeckers are also a bit different from other terrestrial birds. Most terrestrial birds have feet with three toes facing forward and one toe facing backward; this arrangement is known as anisodactyl feet. Essentially all woodpeckers have zygodactyl feet, which is where two toes face forward and two face backward. This arrangement also helps woodpeckers cling to bark better. Woodpeckers also use their tail to brace themselves as they cling to bark. If you look at the previous photo, you can see this in use; the tail is pushed down against the branch in order to help stabilize the woodpecker. A woodpecker's tail is made up of very stiff feathers, and these feathers are attached to large muscles which allow for a range of fine muscle control. If you've ever seen a woodpecker climb up a tree, you've probably noticed that it climbs in short, jerky bursts instead of one fluid motion. Woodpeckers actually climb by using their feet and tail. A woodpecker will lean close to the bark, which takes pressure off the tail, and then push straight up with their legs. They will then swing their legs up quickly and grab the bark once more before bringing their tail down to stabilize everything. They will repeat this method to ascend a tree, which gives them their jerky climbing appearance.

While on the trail, I found another Downy on a large, dead tree. I quickly noticed it was a female Downy Woodpecker since it lacked the red found on the males' heads (which can be seen on the two previous photos). She was standing in one place and excavating a cavity. I first thought that she was excavating a nesting cavity (all woodpeckers are cavity nesters), but it seemed a little early for that. I looked around on the internet and my suspicions were confirmed; Downy Woodpeckers begin excavating their nest cavities in mid April and May. So what was this one doing?

It turns out that Downy Woodpeckers not only nest in cavities, but they also roost in cavities. While they mainly excavate roost cavities in the Fall, they will also do it whenever they need to. I'm assuming that this is the case for this individual. A Downy's roost cavity is built a bit differently from their nest cavity. The main difference is the depth of the cavity; a nest cavity is deeper than a simple roosting cavity. Roost cavities are also built to hold a single individual, instead of a bunch of hatchlings.

I stood around for awhile and watched as she worked on the cavity. Eventually she took off, probably to forage for some food.

I haven't had many bird-related posts on this blog, but that has started to change in the past month. I'm a bird-guy first and foremost, but I haven't been able to get any decent photos with the lenses that I had. With my new 300mm lens, I should have more opportunities to get some photos, and hopefully that means more bird posts, so keep on the lookout!

Black-Legged Kittiwake in Central Ohio!

I'm sorry for the short absence. I've been preparing for finals week, and then, more importantly, getting it over with. But now that finals week is finally over, I finally have a chance to breathe, relax, and blog!

During the week of Thanksgiving, Robert Royse found and reported a juvenile Black-Legged Kittiwake at Deer Creek State Park, specifically the section that lies in Fayette County. Black-Legged Kittiwakes, a species of gull, are a rare visitor to Ohio. Most of the ones that do end up in Ohio show up along Lake Erie, but occasionally you'll get one that shows up in an inland reservoir. This individual was one of those few that showed up inland. To make it even better, it showed up at a park only 30 minutes away from my hometown, and luckily I was there on break. Before returning to Ohio University on Sunday morning (Nov. 30), I ventured out in search of the then-continuing Black-Legged Kittiwake. As with many rarities, dozens of other birders had already made the trip to "chase" the bird, and dozens more would chase it on the day I went.

The kittiwake was said to be hanging around the upper part of Deer Creek State Park, right where Long Branch (a creek) feeds into the man-made reservoir. As I pulled over to park, the site above greeted me. You might ask where's the lake, and that's a good question. Every winter they lower the reservoir by about 14 feet. Since this part of the reservoir is where it begins, draining the lake by that much is enough to reduce the water to a small stream and leave expansive mudflats behind. The lake still remains if you head to the beach or other parts of the reservoir though.

There were already three birders present by the time I arrived there around 8:40 AM. They were scanning as I was getting my gear out, but they hadn't relocated it yet. It's always a gamble when it comes to chasing continuing rare birds, especially when you go early in the morning; it might have been there for a week straight but decided to leave the night before you went. Anxiously, I joined in and scanned the horizon, only to find a handful of Bonaparte's Gulls. Suddenly, we saw a small gull flying in from down the reservoir. Holding our breaths, we turned to the gull...

And lucky for us it was the kittiwake! I quickly tried to snap at least an identifiable photo, which is pictured above. So why are Black-Legged Kittiwakes, Rissa tridactyla, so rare in Ohio?

Range map created by Terry Sohl at South Dakota Birds and Birding. Go check out his wonderful photography!

A quick look at a range map should give you a pretty good idea as to why Black-Legged Kittiwakes are rare in Ohio. Black-Legged Kittiwakes are a true "sea gull." They nest on sea cliffs in northern Canada and all around Alaska before heading out to sea to spend the winter. Occasionally a young bird, like the one at Deer Creek, will wander inland during the winter. Adult visitors to Ohio are much, much rarer (but have still been recorded).

After some hunting, the kittiwake decided to rest and preen on the rock above, which was its favorite roosting place (as evident from the white-wash on the rock). It really is a gorgeous gull, which are birds that many people pass by. A day or two after I visited it, it decided to head out and hasn't been relocated since. Hopefully it ventures back out to sea.