Woodpeckers

About fifteen feet above ground in a small diameter  Maple tree was a small round hole so perfectly shaped it could have been made by a drill bit. Around this hole was a great deal of woodpecker activity, and my spouse and I determined that a nest of baby woodpeckers were in a cavity in the tree with this hole being the point of access. The hole sat about 15 feet into the woods between our campsite and the next one up the road, but since the hole faced our campsite and fire pit area, we were the beneficiaries of the woodpecker activity.

Woodpecker about to access hole in tree

The Hairy (it may be a Downey) woodpeckers, seemingly both the mom and dad, were busy most all day feeding the noisy chicks. For over 12 hours of the day time hours, the little chicks would squeal and squeal, with the noise only occasionally stopping when the parent dropped by with some food. This went on for the five days plus that we were at the campsite, and I am surprised their voices did not go horse. They will have strong vocal cords when they reach maturity. As they chatted all day, I wondered if they were all female chicks getting getting practice for laying out the line to their future mates. My wife quickly could tell the difference between the chick squeal and the adult chatter.

Woodpecker to side of hole pecking insects

The adults would look to find insects on the tree with the nest, but more often fly to nearby and even far trees to find the proper insects. According to a Google search, Hairy woodpeckers (which I think this was) eat a variety of insects, but are particularly like wood-boring beetle larvae, bark beetle larvae, and moth pupae. They also consume ants, caterpillars, spiders, bees, wasps, crickets, and millipedes. Sometimes the chicks seemed to be fed with the adult on the outside simply sticking their head in, and yet other times, the adult would go in the hole not be seen from the outside. Whether they have to worry about allergies for the chicks, I don't know. I pondered whether the siblings were unruly and some punishment needed to be meted out to the youngsters.

Woodpecker about to enter hole

I think we both found some interesting similarities between the moms and dads of the little woodpeckers, and of humans. Babies get a great deal of attention, whether it be a human baby crying (or fussing) or a chick squealing. Parents feed and tend to their needs. The food is not always at home so the parents have to travel to obtain proper a food source(s). Further, while I don't recall the chicks taking a nap, they eventually quieted down at night, and likely left the parents exhausted to reenergize to face another day. At least human babies nap, which gives parents some reprieve from care giving.

There was little wildlife at the site, except for birds, and a squirrel that liked to climb on the camper. My wife saw the the squirrel jump on the the camper frame. Unfortunately, we did not see the babies stick their head out of the nesting hole. But, in the end we got to see bird parents do much of what human parents also do. The care for others is important in human society, but care extends to other species in God's creation, like the woodpeckers.

Images from author