Ramblings: Getting to know Indiana’s woodpeckers

This morning, I spied a small brownish bird slowly creeping up the trunk of the pine tree that stands outside my kitchen window. The bird blended into the trunk so well that I would not have seen it, if it hadn’t moved. The bird was finding insects for breakfast. I knew it wasn’t a woodpecker; they come down the trees, not up. It did not look like any of the woodpeckers I know. Mystery solved, my visitor was a Brown Creeper. The five-inch birds are well camouflaged. They are a mix of browns with a white belly and no marks to distinguish them. They have a curved bill that comes in handy for digging insects out of tree bark. They are common in wooded areas.

The visit of the Brown Creeper made me think of woodpeckers. I love the noisy, brightly colored birds. Seven species of woodpeckers live in Indiana. They do not fly south for the winter. Twenty-two species of woodpeckers inhabit the United States. Globally there are 240 species of woodpeckers. Of the seven that live in Indiana, one only comes to spend the winter. That is the yellow-bellied sapsucker, a native of Canada. The six that stay here all year are the downy, hairy, red-bellied, red-headed, Northern Flicker, and the pileated. Four of the Hoosier woodpeckers are black and white with some splashes of red.

The Northern Flicker is a large bird with striking plumage. They have a brownish barred back, lighter spotted belly, and a black breast band. Both sexes have a red crest on the nape of their necks. Unlike other woodpeckers, they are ground feeders. Their favorite food is ants.

The red-bellied woodpecker, which is common in mature deciduous forests, also has a black and white barred back, a light belly with a faint wash of red, and a red nape. They are also about nine inches long.

My favorite woodpecker, the strikingly colored red-headed woodpecker, has a completely red head, black shoulders and tail, white underbelly, and black and white wings. They are also about nine inches long and prefer old trees for nesting.

Two woodpeckers that often get confused are the downy and the hairy. The smaller downy is about seven inches long. The hairy measures nine inches. They are a mixture of black and white feathers with white underbellies. The males have a red patch on the back of their heads. These birds are uncommon in mature forests. They prefer younger trees and bushes. They are common visitors here at the edge of the small town where I live.

The largest woodpecker to inhabit our area, the pileated, is an unforgettable bird. It is huge at 19 inches and looks like it could have lived with the dinosaurs. The black and white birds have a red crest that looks like Woody the Woodpecker. The guidebooks say they are uncommon. However, in my experience, they are common in Owen County. When I lived on my Ridge near Atkinsonville, they would perch in the tall trees and laugh at me when I worked on my flowers. They have several calls, all of them loud. They chisel large oval holes in trees, looking for food. Small wrens build their nest in those cavities. Their loud drumming echoes through the mature forest.

How many of these fascinating birds have you seen? Hopefully, on your next hike you will be rewarded with a glimpse of one of these beautiful creatures.

‘til next time,

Annie