Tag Archives: Acorn Woodpecker

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One of my favorite birds is the clown-faced Acorn Woodpecker. They often appear at our birdfeeder. Clay Yale and Siegfried Matull recently photographed two Acorn Woodpeckers. Both photos show a female. First here is Siegfried's photo.

Female Acorn Woodpecker by Siegfried Matull

And next is Clay's photo.

Female Acorn Woodpecker by Clay Yale

To show you the difference between a male and female Acorn Woodpecker, here is a photo taken by Jim Garlock. The female is on the right and the male is on the left. Note that the red on top of the male's head is bigger and there is no black between his white and red feathers on his face.

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The sound of Acorns is quite distinctive. Some describe it as "waka waka." To hear for yourself, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/acorn_woodpecker/sounds

Thanks to Siegfried, Clay and Jim for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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I'll let Robert tell about his photo. He wrote, "Just off our deck is a Douglas-fir with lots of tips. This guy appeared the other day, flying in with that classic woodpecker dip and dive flight pattern. We also have a Bishop Pine nearby that woodpeckers like to dig for bugs, and a couple of Tan-bark oaks not too far away where he can find acorns, so I think he was looking around to see where to go next to feed.

"I loved his bright red head and white body markings. Acorn Woodpeckers are very striking to my eye, with a large and really powerful beak."

I love their call. It is very distinctive and sounds like no other bird. To hear it for yourself, here's the link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/acorn_woodpecker/sounds

I thank Robert for his photo and his story.

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Craig Tooley recently photographed a juvenile Acorn Woodpecker growing in new feathers.

I love these clown-faced Woodpeckers. They fly in, with their swooping motion, and land on Bishop Pine trees near our bird feeder. Once on the feeder, the bird acts like a secret agent, looking here and there while bobbing its head.

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see more of Craig's wildlife photography, here's the link: http://ruffimage.com/

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One of my favorite birds on the Mendonoma Coast is the Acorn Woodpecker. We have a pair that is in residence year 'round but others will be migrating into our area soon. A friend described them as "secret agents" because they bob their heads this way and that, while hanging on our feeder. Jim Garlock recently captured a nice photo of an Acorn Woodpecker in flight, headed straight for Jim's feeder!

To see another photo of these brightly colored birds, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2011/08/14/two-acorn-woodpeckers-at-my-feeder-one-seems-to-be-saying-are-you-done-yet/