Red-bellied Woodpecker Family

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Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Their Young Use What Katrina Left

The only good thing that Hurricane Katrina did for Southeastern Louisiana was to leave plenty of broken trees in which the woodpeckers and other cavity nesting birds could raise their young. The Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been very prolific this year and we have photographed much of the day to day comings and goings of a family that nested in a Katrina snag near our house. This lens is a photo journal of the life and habits of a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers and their young.

Our Red-bellied Family 

The woodpecker family contains many beautiful birds of varying sizes. One of the most common woodpeckers in our neck of the woods is the medium sized Red-bellied Woodpecker. These colorful birds are permanent residents so we enjoy seeing them all year long. We are lucky to have several breeding pairs in our habitat. Some of them have become quite used to us and have brought their young to the feeding station nearby, allowing us to get some good photos of the whole family and giving us some insight into the habits and family life of the wonderful and intelligent birds.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker     Male Red-bellied Woodpecker

Description from All About Birds 

Red-bellied Woodpeckers range includes most of the Eastern half of the United States.
  • Medium to large-sized woodpecker.
  • Red hood from top of head to back of neck.
  • Back barred black and white.
  • Size: 24 cm (9 in)
  • Wingspan: 33-42 cm (13-17 in)
  • Weight: 56-91 g (1.98-3.21 ounces)


Listen to the Sounds of the Red-bellied Woodpecker from the PWRC USGS.

Differences Between the Sexes

The male has a red hood extending to the forehead. The female has a red nape only. The male Red-bellied Woodpecker has a longer bill and a longer, wider tongue tip than the female. These adaptations may allow the male to reach deeper into furrows to extract prey and may allow the sexes to divide up the resources in one area.


Habitat and Diet 

The Red-bellied Woodpecker inhabits forests, groves, orchards, farmland and suburbs. According to Sibley, "Woodpeckers tend to be habitat specialists; as such, they are to some extent at risk of extinction when their habitat is threatened." Breeding Bird Survey data reports show that while other woodpecker numbers have dropped, Red-bellied Woodpecker numbers are increasing. We have certainly seen an increase in numbers of all of the six species of woodpeckers that inhabit our habitat in Southeastern Louisiana, mainly because of the extraordinarily large numbers of dead and decaying pine trees that were left after Hurricane Katrina tore a path of destruction through our area. There were so many trees down that we couldn't move them all without destroying what was left of the under story. So today a wide variety of birds and animals take advantage of the "Katrina log" feeders that we made from the debris.

Red-bellied Woodpecker using

Red-bellieds eat a variety of insects, invertebrates, fruit and seeds. Animal food includes: beetles (including wood-boring larvae), ants and other Hymenoptera, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars and bugs. There are also records of these woodpeckers feeding upon vertebrates such as small tree frogs and lizards. Plant food includes: Oak, Grape, Corn, Mulberry, Virginia-creeper, Cherry, Pine, Poison-ivy, Bayberry, Hickory, Dogwood, Beech, Hazelnut, Black Gum, Elderberry and Palmetto. (Martin, Zim and Nelson, American Wildlife & Plants A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits.)

Red-bellied WP male inspects knot hole


Many woodpeckers stash or store food in the cracks and crevices in trees and Red-bellied woodpeckers are one that does, but this species does not appear to defend these stashes against mammals or other birds. They also use holes in trees to anchor a tough seed or nut so that it can be broken open. We were able to capture a male Red-bellied "teaching" one of his young ones just how to do this.

Red-bellied WP Fledgling begs for food Red-bellied WP watches father find food in hole

Red-bellied Eating Mulberries Vid 

Red-Bellied Woodpecker enjoying mulberries

Mulberries are a favorite treat of many birds around south Louisiana. Seeing this Red-bellied Woodpecker chowing down surprised me though!

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Breeding 

Like most woodpeckers, Red-bellied woodpeckers are monogamous and territorial. Woodpeckers are cavity nesters who drill out a new nesting cavity each year. Red-bellieds will also nest in birdhouses, but don't do so often. We have seen them roost in a Bluebird size nest box that they enlarged the hole in. They often have a cavity for breeding in the spring and another one that they drill out in the fall for roosting. It usually takes about 2 weeks to excavate the cavity.

The hole of the nest cavity usually faces north here in the hot, humid south so that the nest will not become overheated by the afternoon sun. The nesting cavity consists of a narrow (just wide enough for the woodpecker) horizontal entrance to a larger vertical cavity where the 2-6 (usually 4) white eggs are laid on a bed of wood chips.

Both the male and female incubate the eggs for 12 days. The chicks are altrical (blind and naked at birth) and fledge from 24-27 days. Both parents care for the young.

Redbellied WP Male & Female take turns incubating the eggs Red-bellied WP Male & female both care for the Young



As the chicks grow, the parents frantically go back and forth to the feeders and the woods to bring food to stuff into the gaping mouths.

Red-bellied WP Male & Female feed the young Red-bellied WP male & female get food for young in nest Red-bellied WP Female off to get more food Red-bellied WP Female on log feeder

Woodpecker Nest Box 

Hairy, Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpecker House

Hairy, Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpecker House

Amazon Price: $35.99 (as of 07/13/2009)Buy Now

Changing of the Guard Vid 

Woodpeckers Trading Places

A Red-bellied Woodpecker flies up and taps on tree to summon mate, so that he can take her place in their tree cavity nest.

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The Chicks Fledge 

Woodpecker parents will often divide the fledglings between them when foraging and we have observed this on several occasions. Many times the fledglings will stay with the parents until fall, even though they may not be dependent on them.


Red-bellied WP male finds food for fledgling Red-bellied WP male feeds Fledgling



As fledglings mature, the parents teach them how to find their own food and how to store food. The father patiently models the behavior at the log feeder and the storage cavity that will help the young ones survive. Dad begins to look tired, but finally, one by one, the babies finds food for itself.

Red-bellied WP teaches young about sunflower seed Red-bellied WP male shows fledgling the log feeder

Predators and Usurpers 

Sharp-shinned-Hawk print
Sharp-shinned-Hawk by WildThings

The predators of the adult birds include many birds of prey like Sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks, Rat Snakes and house Cats. Imported European Starlings often try to take over nesting cavities. In some areas, half of all Red-bellied Woodpecker nesting cavities are taken over by starlings. Other predators of the nestlings and eggs include rat snakes, red-headed woodpeckers and pileated woodpeckers. Old woodpecker cavities (and sometimes the new ones) are used by a variety of creatures including flying squirrels and bluebirds.




Woodpecker parents will aggressively defend their nests and young. They harass a predator with alarm calls and may even attack predators that come near the nest.

Yellow Rat Snake Poster print
Yellow Rat Snake Poster by lisawilliamsgifts

Red-bellied Woodpecker Speaks Vid 

Red Bellied Wood Pecker Speaks

Red Bellied Wood Pecker Squawks and eats.

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Red-bellied Woodpeckers at Zazzle 

More Facts About Red-bellied Woodpeckers from Wiki 

The Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, is a medium-sized woodpecker of the Picidae family. It breeds in southern Canada and the northeastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas. Its common name is somewhat misleading, as the most prominent red part of its plumage is on the head; the Red-headed Woodpecker however is another species that is a rather close relative but looks entirely different.

It was first described in Linnaeus' Systema Naturae, as Picus carolinus."Picus pileo nuchaque rubris, dorso fasciis nigris, rectricibus mediis albis nigro punctatis. ... Ani regio rubra punctata." - "Woodpecker with red cap and nape, back with black bands, central tail feathers white with black spots. Anal region spotted red." (Linneaus, 1758). The type locality is given simply as "America septentrionalis" (North America).

__TOC__

Category: Image - :Red-bellied_Woodpecker_Female.jpg|thumb|left|Adult female - showing reddish belly.

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

Red-bellied Woodpecker Art Print 

by Roger Tory Peterson

Red-bellied Woodpecker, Art Poster by Roger Tory Peterson, size 11.75

Red-bellied Woodpecker, Art Poster by Roger Tory Peterson, size 11.75" x 14.75"

Amazon Price: $27.75 (as of 07/13/2009)Buy Now

Endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker Books 

Another of our Southeastern Louisiana woodpeckers, the Red-cockaded, has not faired as well as the Red-bellied. Much of it's Long-leaf Pine habitat was destroyed by logging. Small pockets of suitable habitat are being protected by the Nature Conservancy so that this lovely woodpecker can stage a comeback.
The Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Surviving in a Fire-Maintained Ecosystem (Corrie Herring Hooks Series, Number Forty-nine)
The Red-cockaded Woodpeck...
The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem: Ecology, Silviculture, and Restoration (Springer Series on Environmental Management)
The Longleaf Pine Ecosyst...
A Stillness in the Pines: The Ecology of the Red Cockaded Woodpecker (The Commonwealth Fund Book Program)
A Stillness in the Pines:...

Woodpecker Blogs 

Red-bellied Woodpecker 06/07/2009 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Family: Picidae, Species: Melanerpes carolinus (11b size 4 x 6)
Bird watch - NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA
Moulton Street, Newburyport: Cooper's Hawk, Chipping Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, Cedar Waxwing, House Wren. Curzon Mill Road, Newburyport: Rose-breasted Grosbeak with fledgling, Red-bellied Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch ...
A Red Bellied Woodpecker Visits Our Bird Feeder
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Birds of Summer at Banshee Reeks and the Dulles Wetlands » Loudoun ...
... Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher ? 2, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker ? including a very young fledgling, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher ? est 10, ...
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Search for the Ivory-billed 

I couldn't write a lens about a Louisiana woodpecker without mentioning the Ivory-billed. There have been two possible sightings of this rare and unique bird. One sighting was in the Pearl River Swamp area, which is not very far from where we live. (We can only hope!) The other was in a large, almost pristine forest in North Louisiana in Tensas Parish. And the search goes on.

Woodpeckers on eBay 

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Peck Out a Note to Us. 

Lensmaster

RuralRoute2 wrote...

We have Red Bellies coming to our bird feeders all the time. You've really done a great job on this lens. 5 *s.

LeAnn

ReplyPosted December 20, 2008

Lensmaster

AndyPo wrote...

Excellent lens and photos. On my trip to America earlier this year I saw lots of woodpeckers, in the national parks, but I'm not an expert on American birds, so I struggled to identify which ones I had seen. Beautiful birds though and great fun to watch.

ReplyPosted November 25, 2008

Lensmaster

ElizabethJeanAllen wrote...

The Red-headed Woodpecker is not real common anymore, but I have a couple that come to my suet feeder in the winter. What would it be like to see an Ivory-billed? There are rumors...
Great lens
Lizzy

ReplyPosted October 26, 2008

Lensmaster

tdove wrote...

Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!

ReplyPosted September 24, 2008

Lensmaster

Evelyn_Saenz wrote...

Please thank the Red Bellied Woodpecker for knocking on my door. Another outstanding lens by a great lensmaster.

Thank you for taking a A Walk in the Woods with us.

ReplyPosted August 24, 2008

 
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