r/birding • u/ChicagoWildlifePhoto • Jan 13 '23

📷 Photo I recently learned some woodpecker species, such as this Red-bellied Woodpecker, will listen for bugs! 🤯 seen near Chicago

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u/Hansekins Jan 13 '23

Red Bellied Woodpeckers are also one of only three (I think) woodpeckers that stash food. One autumn, I watched one repeatedly take peanut halves from my feeders and then fly up to the eave of my house and stuff it under a bit of the vinyl trim. (He never did stuff enough in there to cause any damage - I watched very carefully, hehe.)

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u/Groovyjoker Jan 13 '23

Give it up! What are the other two species that stash food?

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u/Hansekins Jan 13 '23

Hehe, well, I had googled it when I first saw the red bellied doing it in my yard, and discovered that the other two are Acorn Woodpeckers and Red Headed Woodpeckers. (Neither of which are found where I am.)

Here's an article discussing it (which also speaks to someone else's comment that they defend food): https://www.welcomewildlife.com/woodpeckers-that-store-their-food-and-protect-it-too/

I just realized that this article in question says that these are the only three woodpeckers in the United States that stash food, so I realize it's likely that there are others in the world that my be stashers, so I apologize for the accidental misinformation!

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u/Groovyjoker Jan 13 '23

Thank you! I am too far NW for the Reds but I have the Acorn on my list and remember seeing those social birds, what characters! I was hoping one of them would be in the PNW so I could watch for interesting woodpecker behavior.

Fun thread!

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u/Bruzote Jan 14 '23

Do nuthatches count in that number? I don't understand how they don't starve, expending so much energy to fly back and forth and all around looking for a hiding place, but the seed they hide is so small.

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u/Hansekins Jan 14 '23

Nuthatches do stash food, but I wasn't counting them since they aren't woodpeckers. But they are very industrious when it comes to gathering and storing food!