Although Ive noticed a slight downturn in the numbers, woodpeckers seem to be doing well.. near my home is an area I nic-named the 40 Acre Woods-its a large 103 acre tract with a vacant land owner--its used for timber cutting and leased to hunters in season--it is great Red Headed Woodpecker habitat! With plentiful snags and a low laying area that supports a large insect
population, its the perfect habitat for these beautiful birds!
They drum quite loudly when they are digging a bug out of the dead wood--but Nothing like the Pileated Woodpecker the cousin to the possibly back from extinction Ivory Billed Woodpecker. In the field it would be easy to distinguish between the Ivory Billed that has a very large white wing patch....These guys make a very loud jungle type call and the drumming sound can travel for some distance-
The Downy Woodpecker is a visitor to the suet in the yard on occasion...not as frequently as in the past--these small woodpeckers are quite common though in my area. They drum really fast and not so loud but you can certainly hear it. They will drum on the wood of your house! They have a high pitched little pik call and the faint whinny sound too. The Hairy Woodpecker is sometimes confused with the Downy but I usually check the beak length..the hairy has a longer beak. (sorry no Hairy Photo) I think its fascinating how the length of the beak means woodpeckers don't compete for the same grubs! The grubs that live deeper in the wood are eaten by the longer beaked birds!
Another familiar woodpecker in my area is the Red Bellied Woodpecker. I wish I had a better photo to represent this fellow--I love the dotted white on black of this birds back. They also drum loudly and have a call that sort of rolllssss out...like a chatter.
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