Birders Mary Kimberly and Joy Carter reported the other day that they “swept the woodpeckers” while leading an Atlanta Audubon Society bird walk at Constitution Lakes wildlife preserve in southeast DeKalb County.
What they meant was that during their outing, they heard or saw all of the seven woodpecker species that live in the metro area at this time of year. (An eighth species, the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, lives only in old growth piney woods in Middle and South Georgia.)
Here’s a brief look at Georgia’s eight woodpecker species:
— The yellow-bellied sapsucker is our only migratory woodpecker, spending the winter here and returning north in spring to nest. While here in winter and early spring, the 7-to-9-inch bird hammers trees for insects and drills “wells” in live hardwoods to collect sap and trap insects.
— The red-headed woodpecker has a completely red head — gorgeous. The bird also is unusual in that it’s adept at catching insects in the air; it also eats lots of acorns and beech nuts and often caches food in tree cavities for later.
— The red-bellied woodpecker's head is only partially red. A regular visitor to backyard suet feeders, it's rolling churr call is frequently heard in the woods.
— The downy woodpecker, our smallest woodpecker, also is a suet lover. It has an unusually short bill for a woodpecker — used to probe tiny tree crevices for grubs and other invertebrates.
— The hairy woodpecker is similar to the downy but slightly larger and with a longer bill.
— The beautiful Northern flicker hammers and climbs up tree trunks like other woodpeckers, but it prefers to find food on the ground.
— The pileated woodpecker, at 16-19 inches long and with a flaming red crest, is Georgia’s largest, showiest woodpecker —a breathtaking sight.
— The red-cockaded woodpecker is on the federal Endangered Species List. Found now only in old-growth pine stands in Middle and South Georgia, it’s the only woodpecker that drills nest cavities in living trees.
N THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon will be first quarter on Monday. Mercury is low and Venus and Mars are very low in the west at dusk. Jupiter rises in the east at dusk. Saturn rises in the east just before midnight.
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