[NatureNS] Downy Woodpecker Behaviour

Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:05:32 -0300
From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
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Hi Derek & All, Oct 1, 2008
That sounds like a primitive version of the Acorn Woodpecker's strategy 
for getting the meat of thick-shelled, bullet-shaped acorns. They drill 
a hole of the correct diameter and depth in a tree, usually an Oak, ram 
the acorn in pointed end first and then extract the meat through the 
relatively weak proximal end of the acorn.
Yt, DW

D W Bridgehouse wrote:

> This morning at our birdfeeder which has black sunflower seed I 
> witnessned (to me) a strange occurrence. Before I ID the bird - there 
> was a bird perched vertical on the feeder instead the usual horizontal 
> on the provided perches. The bird took a single sunflower seed to a 
> crevice between two branches in the same tree and began hammering away 
> to break open the sunflower seed . The bird was a Downy Woodpecker. As 
> I was walking to the garbage bin he stayed there unbothered at a 
> distance of about 6 feet away .
>
> Is this strange behaviour for a wood pecker ? I have never seen before 
> nor heard of this behaviour at seed feeders !
>
> I know wood peckers will hack into silkmoth cocoons in winter to get 
> at the juicy pupa as a snack .
>
> If any one or other birders can offer their thoughts / observations / 
> knowledge on this - I would be interested in reading ?
>
> Thanks in advance , Derek B
>
> ******************
>
> Derek W. Bridgehouse
>
> Dartmouth, NS
>
> d.bridgehouse@ns.sympatico.ca
>


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