Douglas firs, redwood and tropical hardwood forests, urban parks, and rural areas are among choice locations for the Acorn Woodpecker. They will frequent towns and suburbs as long as oaks trees bearing plenty of acorns and suitable places to store them are accessible. They may also be seen in savannahs, chaparral, mixed oak-conifer forests on slopes, mountain forests, and riparian woodlands in the southwest and west coast.
They can also be found in Colorado, Utah, and the tropics.īesides dwelling in the American Southwest, this bird inhabits parts of western Mexico, the Central American highlands, and farther south into the northern Andes of Colombia.Īcorn Woodpeckers occupy western oak woodlands, preferably the open oak and pine-oak forests. Their territory ranges from southern Oregon, south through California, Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. This is a sedentary species, living year-round on the West Coast and nearby states. Some have found that hanging strips of shiny ribbon from the eaves or tying balloons in front of the siding will frighten the birds away, but the only permanent solution is to replace the siding with an impenetrable material. The homeowner may find his wood siding riddled with holes as a result of the Acorn Woodpecker’s drilling, and it isn’t an easy task to discourage the woodpeckers from this behavior. This species chooses the highest elevations possible in their range. They will dwell in both urban and suburban neighborhoods as long as there are plenty of acorn-bearing oak trees available.
Unafraid of humans, they have been known to follow picnickers, cleaning up the scraps they’ve left behind. Some groups will migrate in order to take advantage of seasonal increases in insect populations. In habitats with a temperate climate, the birds within the bushel do not typically forage at the same time, but those dwelling in the tropics often forage and travel together. As they stock up for winter, they will fill the tree with a bounty of acorns. The granary is usually a tree, but it can also be a fence, telephone pole, or siding on a building. These trees may be storehouses for a bushel of woodpeckers for many generations. They stash their acorns in what is termed a “granary tree ” these are storage trees into which the woodpeckers pack acorns for future retrieval. Other birds hoard, but none does it on such a grand scale as the Acorn Woodpecker. This mid-sized woodpecker is a permanent resident throughout its range however, they may relocate to another area if acorns are not readily obtainable. Their unusual, laugh-like call identifies them in the field. These groups are known as “bushels” of woodpeckers and are comprised of siblings, their cousins, and their parents.Īs these birds soar in their undulating flight pattern, the bird-watcher can catch a glimpse of the white circles on their wings. The Acorn Woodpecker ( Melanerpes formicivorus) – also known as Narrow-fronted Woodpecker – is quite a busy, social bird, living year-round in communal family groups of as many as 15 birds.
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