Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) Male photos by Larry Jordan
After the rains we had last week, I checked on the bird feeders and found some wet Nut and Fruit Mix in the woodpecker feeder so I emptied it into the tray feeder for whoever might want it and filled the woodpecker feeder with fresh food.
I went back to working on the other chores needing to be done around the house (you know how that goes) until I heard a raucous going on in the yard. Four Acorn Woodpeckers had dive bombed and chased a Western Gray Squirrel away from the tray feeder.
This is what the squirrel looked like when it was eating out of the tray feeder daily last May (click on photos for full sized images).
By the time I saw what was going on, the squirrel had high tailed it far from the bird feeders and the Acorn Woodpeckers had taken over the tray feeder.
There were several woodpeckers at the feeder so I grabbed my camera and took a chore break to catch some of the action on film. As I watched the woodpeckers, they were taking mostly peanuts (like the female pictured above) and transporting them to the nearby rocks to stash them for later.
To see Acorn Woodpeckers stash acorns is not unusual around here. There are plenty of granary trees in the vicinity where acorns are constantly being stored and monitored buy the woodpecker community, but I had never seen them stashing food in the crevices of rock formations.
It was fun watching them go back and forth from the feeder to the rocks and seemingly search the rocks for places to store their treasure.
I never saw the squirrel come back to the feeder that day. The Acorn Woodpeckers dominated that food source.
If you want to see more great bird photos from around the world, go check out Springman’s World Bird Wednesday! And while you’re here, if you use Google Friend Connect, please consider joining my website via the widget in the right hand column of my blog and I will join yours in return. Thanks for the visit!
Comments on this entry are closed.
…such a gorgeous bird! I always love seeing posts on Acorn Woodpeckers because I don’t get to see them here at home. I liked the video too…
I love these clowny birds! Very Cool video Larry. I didn’t realize they stashed food in rock crevices..neat!
such brilliantly marked birds! if i were the squirrel, i’d leave the feeder to the birds and just forage in the rocks…
@Kelly they are a very striking bird and their antics are so much fun to watch
@Dawn this is the first time I have ever seen them stash food anywhere other than in trees
@Theresa ha ha ha. Good idea! I did go look at the places in the rocks they visited and found peanuts stuffed in those crevices. I’ll have to keep my eye on those and see if any Western Scrub-Jays find them, or maybe the squirrels
What an amazing bird! I can’t wait to see one for real.!
Great post, Larry! Loved the video. Nice backyard too!!
Beautiful Woodpecker!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
Very good post!!!
what an impressive woodpecker and such interesting behaviour!
They do remind me of clowns. We see a lot of them when we walk the nearby oak woodlands. I have yet to catch a shot of them stashing acorns in their favorite grainary.
Your Woodpecker has a red hat also as mine in my post .
I looked also at your video from a squirrel, it was fun 🙂
Great photos and interesting bird and squirrel action. Fun to watch I’m sure!
I enjoyed the video clip..I have 2 of those same feeders…thank you for the info on my hawk. I still have one here everyday and it may be the same one, but he is staying out of the garage…
Amazing bird Larry, a new one on me. Those white eyes are other worldly. It’s fantastic the variety of woodpeckers out there. I have personally seen five of the 180 world wide. It’s crazy how much there is out there to see!
Wonderful shots of the Acorn Woodie. I would love to see this bird, they have cool eyes.
Love your woodpecker captures. Hope to meet one too.
how stunning that Acorn Woodpecker; great photos
Very cool woodpecker! I like the white around the eyes. Nice photos!
Such beautiful markings! You did a great job with the video, showing them stashing seeds in the rock crevices.
What a cutie! I have never seen one of these before. I wish my birds would scare the squirrels away. I think it’s the other way around here.
great looking woodpeckers. It msut have been fun watching them. 🙂