Friday 14 March 2008

Woodpeckers in the Garden

We see the woodpeckers from time to time and know that they have arrived by their characteristic knocking. But I have never seen a pair travelling together. Once again Wikipedia came to the rescue and I quote from their site The Crimson-crested Woodpecker (Campephilus melanoleucos) is a very large woodpecker which is a resident breeding bird from Panama south to northern border regions of Argentina, and on Trinidad.
The habitat of this species is forests and more open woodland. Two white eggs are laid in a nest hole in a dead tree and incubated by both sexes.
The Crimson-crested Woodpecker is 36 cm long and weighs 250g. It resembles the
Pileated Woodpecker of North America, but within its range the confusion species is the Lineated Woodpecker.
Adults are mainly black above, with a red crest and white lines down the sides of the black throat and shoulders, which meet in a V on the back. The underparts are white, heavily barred with black. They show white on the wings in flight.
Adult males have a red line from the bill to the throat and red on the front of the crown. In adult females, these plumage features are black.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great pictures of your garden flowers, I too am a tropical gardener and cook, but in Australia, and seeing your photos has inspired me to stick photos on my blog, which involved learning a new skill. ( No good ones on yet due to my garden being underwater...but I'm glad I stumbled on your blog) Eve

My Chutney Garden said...

Thank you for visiting Eve. I always like to visit the Australia blogs, there are always interesting and sometimes the plants are very similar.
Come back again,
Sharon

William Wren said...
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Anonymous said...

Very beautiful photos, Woodpecker is so sweet:-)

Anonymous said...

Loved the article about the woodpecker not to mention the lovely photos.

Tira said...

Nice photos.When we lived St Joseph Village in the mountains we used to hear woodpeckers pecking all the time.

transilvaniaguitar said...

Great, inspiring article and photos! Keep up the good job!

Debra Kay said...

Lovely photos-I really enjoy woodpeckers.

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Ms. Kathleen said...

Those are amazing photos! Thanks for sharing!

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Aiyana said...

That is an odd looking woodpecker. Colorful but odd. We have a lot of woodpeckers here, but they are a very nondescript brown color. They ream out holes in Saguaro cactus and nest in there. Then, when they're done, other birds take up residence. Most all Saguaros have numerous nest holes in them. It doesn't hurt the cactus, but does detract from the appearance after awhile.

Carolyn said...

Hi Sharon,

Very nice blog site, I'm from Malaysia and I saw your blogs in the list. Very intresting and I love the pics taken.

God's Pittbull said...

Hi Sharon!

I love your blog! Great stuff on it and wonderful pic's...In Holland where I live, I once saw a green Woodpecker..It was enormous and not shy atall! I wish I had a camera at hand then so I could have it on film, but alas....It was very beautiful and very interesting to watch it doing it's thing..Do you have green ones where you live?

Anonymous said...

Hey Sharon,

Thanks for adding my blog to your favourites on blotanical! Thats quite a striking Woodpecker - I'm sure I've seen a cartoon of him before? Also loved the Desiderata post - just what I need at the moment...

Anonymous said...

What a great idea making booties for dogs.Excellent.

Anonymous said...

Great blog, Sharon! I have two kinds of woodpeckers in my Florida backyard myself but can't seem to take a good photo of either one of them and that's why I appreciate your pictures even more.All the best & thank you!

Terra said...

Crimson is the right word. Lovely birds and photos.
Terra
http://terragarden.blogspot.com

Karen said...

Thanks for sharing insights, photos and info so neat. There's a feeling of deep satisfaction in seeing what someone else is seeing and learning what they've learned. Very cool!

KING DJ said...

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শর্বরী - Sarbari said...

hi Sharon,

I am from Bangalore, India. Great blog and great pictures. loved the stories about your Mother and your generation of women.

inspiring.

thank you.

Sharabori

michvanetta said...

Wow, I've actually never seen woodpeckers before, these are great photos.

Abhishek Desai said...

gr8 insight there id say
if only thered b enf of humane in humans
these sights dont deserve to b rare
excellent work on the pics

Anonymous said...

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mine is abhishekdesai84@yahoo.com

Alison Toon Photographer said...

Thank you for sharing! Great blog!

:-)
Alison

Unknown said...

What a lovely and fascinating blog you have. As I browse through your archives I feel as though I am indulging in some very enjoyable armchair travel.

Bloomin'Chick Jo said...

i've just discovered your wonderful blog and am delighted to find that i'm not the only one who enjoys gardening in the rain & by the moon along w/all the other many blessings of gardening!

l.a. said...

just stopping by to say that after reading your first page, i love your posts about the things you saw in new york (i just got back on sunday) and the coconut seller, i love the stories of street vendors. one of my favourites, the tamale lady of sf: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9ulLQRBOek

Anonymous said...

sweet pics, woodpeckers are so cool

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AudreyO said...

I love the photos. Im' not sure I've ever seen a woodpecker up close like this. What pretty colors.

Little Lovables said...

Those are lovely birds! I wish I had a garden to invite them in :)

The Giraffe Head Tree said...

Stunning woodpeckers AND photos! I've never seen one of these ever, and think them quite striking. We have red-headed woodpeckers, along with the smaller downey and hairy woodpeckers but nothing along the lines of the cartoon character known as Woody Woodpecker that these two remind me of! Great post. Debi @ GHT