Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Woodpeckers
Apr. 27th, 2023 02:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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birdfeedingThree Weeks for Dreamwidth runs April 25-May 15. This year, I'll be posting about birds in honor of birdfeeding. Today's topic is Woodpeckers.
Woodpeckers belong to the Picidae family in the Piciformes order of birds. This family includes about 240 species in 35 genera, of which about 20 species are endangered. Other members of the Picidae include piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Almost all of them live in forested habitats, but a few live in other places. For instance, the Gila woodpecker lives in cacti instead of trees.
Because almost all woodpeckers and their relatives live in forests, they are acutely vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation. Many species, especially larger ones like the ivory-billed and red-cockaded woodpeckers, need old-growth forests that are even harder to find. Old-growth forests share specific features such as big old trees, standing snags and fallen logs, trees of mixed ages, a layered canopy, and lots of native wildflowers. For woodpeckers, the most crucial feature is dead wood, especially big old trees with some dead limbs attached and standing snags. They drill holes in dying or dead wood for insects and/or sap as well as nesting cavities. Even relatively young forests can be managed to recreate features of old-growth forests, thus improving the habitat value for woodpeckers and other wildlife. Talk with your local park service and encourage them to leave some dead wood for woodpeckers.
Attract Birds by Adding a Snag to Your Yard
Log Piles – Creating a Flourishing Wildlife Community
Nurse Logs in your garden
Snag Management
Why Snags are Awesome (And How to Get Started)
You can help by leaving dying or dead trees in your yard. If the tree is far from buildings or power lines, leave it alone. If it might cause a falling hazard, then it can be trimmed to a safer height; use the cut branches to create a brush pile habitat. If you don't have any dead or dying trees, you can install a substitute, called stumpery. This can be anything from a big interesting rootmass to a tall trunk sunk in the ground to serve as a snag. Ask a tree service if they have dead wood you can use, or after a storm, ask homeowners about fallen or broken trees. They will often let you have it for free, especially if you can move it yourself. If you have a tree that you don't want, you can top and/or girdle it to create a snag. This makes good use of invasive trees or those with undesirable features like brittle wood or disease vulnerability. Dead wood also makes great crafts that blend into the natural look of a wildlife garden.
19 Amazing DIY Tree Log Projects for Your Garden
67 Things to Make Out of Logs and Branches
How to Make a DIY Stumpery in Your Garden
Plant a standing snag for wildlife
What Is A Stumpery Garden – Stumpery Ideas For The Landscape
Woodpeckers are easily attracted to backyard bird stations. Of course their first choice is dead wood, but they also like many human offerings. Suet is the most popular woodpecker food, followed by large seeds such as peanuts or sunflower seeds. A suet cage or peanut feeder will be more popular if it has a tail prop, but some woodpeckers like downies can hang upside-down, and that type of feeder discourages invasive species like house sparrows or starlings from scarfing down the suet. Nest boxes allow woodpeckers to raise chicks if you don't have a dead tree for them to drill. Because woodpeckers prefer to excavate their own holes, pack the box with wood chips for them to remove.
The 6 Best Woodpecker Feeders By Type - Wild Yards
6 Proven Ways to Attract Woodpeckers! (2023)
10 Best Woodpecker Feeders Your Woodpeckers Will Love
11 Tips on How to Attract Woodpeckers to Your Yard (2022)
About Woodpecker Houses
Attracting Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers to Your Backyard
How to Attract Woodpeckers To Your Yard (7 Easy Tips)
Towers of Flowers - Territorial Seed (seed mix of sunflowers and climbers)
The Ultimate Guide to Attract Woodpeckers to Your Bird Feeders
What Do Woodpeckers Eat? 8 Foods to Offer
Woodpecker Birdhouse Plans: 8 birdhouse plans for 9 woodpecker species
Woodpecker Feeders
Woodpecker / Flicker Houses (to buy)
birdfeeding. Today's topic is Woodpeckers.Woodpeckers belong to the Picidae family in the Piciformes order of birds. This family includes about 240 species in 35 genera, of which about 20 species are endangered. Other members of the Picidae include piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Almost all of them live in forested habitats, but a few live in other places. For instance, the Gila woodpecker lives in cacti instead of trees.
Because almost all woodpeckers and their relatives live in forests, they are acutely vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation. Many species, especially larger ones like the ivory-billed and red-cockaded woodpeckers, need old-growth forests that are even harder to find. Old-growth forests share specific features such as big old trees, standing snags and fallen logs, trees of mixed ages, a layered canopy, and lots of native wildflowers. For woodpeckers, the most crucial feature is dead wood, especially big old trees with some dead limbs attached and standing snags. They drill holes in dying or dead wood for insects and/or sap as well as nesting cavities. Even relatively young forests can be managed to recreate features of old-growth forests, thus improving the habitat value for woodpeckers and other wildlife. Talk with your local park service and encourage them to leave some dead wood for woodpeckers.
Attract Birds by Adding a Snag to Your Yard
Log Piles – Creating a Flourishing Wildlife Community
Nurse Logs in your garden
Snag Management
Why Snags are Awesome (And How to Get Started)
You can help by leaving dying or dead trees in your yard. If the tree is far from buildings or power lines, leave it alone. If it might cause a falling hazard, then it can be trimmed to a safer height; use the cut branches to create a brush pile habitat. If you don't have any dead or dying trees, you can install a substitute, called stumpery. This can be anything from a big interesting rootmass to a tall trunk sunk in the ground to serve as a snag. Ask a tree service if they have dead wood you can use, or after a storm, ask homeowners about fallen or broken trees. They will often let you have it for free, especially if you can move it yourself. If you have a tree that you don't want, you can top and/or girdle it to create a snag. This makes good use of invasive trees or those with undesirable features like brittle wood or disease vulnerability. Dead wood also makes great crafts that blend into the natural look of a wildlife garden.
19 Amazing DIY Tree Log Projects for Your Garden
67 Things to Make Out of Logs and Branches
How to Make a DIY Stumpery in Your Garden
Plant a standing snag for wildlife
What Is A Stumpery Garden – Stumpery Ideas For The Landscape
Woodpeckers are easily attracted to backyard bird stations. Of course their first choice is dead wood, but they also like many human offerings. Suet is the most popular woodpecker food, followed by large seeds such as peanuts or sunflower seeds. A suet cage or peanut feeder will be more popular if it has a tail prop, but some woodpeckers like downies can hang upside-down, and that type of feeder discourages invasive species like house sparrows or starlings from scarfing down the suet. Nest boxes allow woodpeckers to raise chicks if you don't have a dead tree for them to drill. Because woodpeckers prefer to excavate their own holes, pack the box with wood chips for them to remove.
The 6 Best Woodpecker Feeders By Type - Wild Yards
6 Proven Ways to Attract Woodpeckers! (2023)
10 Best Woodpecker Feeders Your Woodpeckers Will Love
11 Tips on How to Attract Woodpeckers to Your Yard (2022)
About Woodpecker Houses
Attracting Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers to Your Backyard
How to Attract Woodpeckers To Your Yard (7 Easy Tips)
Towers of Flowers - Territorial Seed (seed mix of sunflowers and climbers)
The Ultimate Guide to Attract Woodpeckers to Your Bird Feeders
What Do Woodpeckers Eat? 8 Foods to Offer
Woodpecker Birdhouse Plans: 8 birdhouse plans for 9 woodpecker species
Woodpecker Feeders
Woodpecker / Flicker Houses (to buy)
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Date: 2023-04-27 06:47 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2023-04-27 07:41 pm (UTC)I'm happy to hear that. I'm doing bird anchor posts as part of Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, so there will be lots more!
>> We have Northern flickers and downy woodpeckers here year-round.<<
Here in central Illinois I have downies. I used to have red-headed woodpeckers but haven't seen those in years. :( For a while we had northern flickers. Occasionally I see red-bellied woodpeckers. My dad has pileated woodpeckers.
>> The info about dead trees and nesting boxes is also something for us to consider.<<
Yay! I'm happy I could help.