Nature Corner: Who’s Knocking at My Door, Roof, and/or Telephone pole?
There are nine different types of woodpeckers living in New England (Black-backed, Downy, Hairy, Northern Flicker, Pileated, Red-bellied, Red-headed, Three-toed and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker) and these remarkable birds share some unusual characteristics and behaviors. In today’s and next week’s Nature Corner, we’ll share some fun and interesting facts.
1.Woodpeckers have furry noses! Their nostrils are actually covered in feathers. This is a practical adaptation that keeps the dust and splinters of wood out while they are pecking.
2. Woodpeckers all have strong tail feathers designed to help them brace against a tree.
3. They have four toes, the first and the fourth facing backward and the second and third facing forward. This arrangement helps them to securely grasp the branch or tree trunk.
4. Woodpeckers like moving to new places. After drilling and creating a new home, it is usually abandoned the following year. This is a gift to cavity-nesting birds like chickadees, nuthatches, bluebirds, wrens and flycatchers.
For more in-depth information on the New England Woodpeckers:
