7 Fascinating & Unusual Woodpeckers of North America

In this video, I would like to talk about some uncommon Woodpeckers with some fascinating and unusual behaviors.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:09 Red-headed Woodpecker
01:09 Lewis’s Woodpecker
02:00 Acorn Woodpecker
03:00 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
03:51 Black-backed Woodpecker
04:55 Gila Woodpecker
06:02 Red-cockaded Woodpecker
07:36 Ending

Red-headed Woodpecker:
The gorgeous Red-headed Woodpecker of the Eastern United States. Sometimes referred to as, “Flying checkerboard” thanks to its bold pattern of black and white. They are known as one of the most skillful flycatchers among North American woodpeckers.

Lewis’s Woodpecker:
The Lewis’s Woodpecker has their own color style. For a bird considered a woodpecker, they are very odd. When in flight they fly like a crow and when looking for food they behave like a flycatcher flying out to catch insects in the air.

Acorn Woodpecker:
This clown-faced character is quite unusual, they can live in very large family groups of up to a dozen or more, and breed cooperatively.
They also spend a lot of time storing away as many as 50,0000 acorns into holes they drilled into one tree, called the Granary Tree.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker:
The yellow-bellied sapsucker prefers the sugary sap of young birch and maple trees. To get at the sap inside they drill into the trunk, and have an organized way of drilling sap wells, with several neatly produced holes made into rows.

Black-backed Woodpecker:
After a fire, they are known to take advantage of the post-fire resources, like dead trees they can nest in and finding the emerging wood-boring beetles they so love to feast on. This strong association with wood-borers and burned forests makes them the most specialized forager among North America’s woodpeckers.

Gila Woodpecker:
The Gila Woodpecker are great at living in treeless arid environments, especially the deserts. Nearly all woodpeckers excavate nest cavities in dead trees but these birds use saguaro cactus.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker:
A habitat specialist of the Southeastern United States, that live in a family group and are a cooperative breeder. The family excavates several cavities within their home territory of 200 acres, and it can take 2 years or more to fully complete one cavity.

Photos & Videos provided by the Following (A-Z)

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kerrit56

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The Bird Garden Channel

Ethan Lin
Paul Bigelow

Thumbnail(L-R):
Black-backed Woodpecker by LesleytheBirdNerd

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[FlyToBeach]

Your videos are amazing! I suffer from anxiety and depression, your videos are very calming and soothing to me. Plus, they are educational and I love that! Thank you for posting about woodpecker‘s, I was thinking about them today and was wondering more about them. Thank you for all you do! I really appreciate it!

[LesleytheBirdNerd]

I had a cold during the recording of this video, my apologies for that but the show must go on!
If you liked the video the best way to support the channel is by SHARING it with other fellow birders.
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I appreciate each and every one of your support and I hope you enjoyed the show!

[ericallen]

Really enjoy your time and knowledge help with learning birds

[affinityforanime]

I would definitely have to say that woodpeckers are my favorite variety of songbirds. They always seem to have so much personality. It's never a dull moment watching their behavior.

[kerrygrim]

Woodpecks are my favorite group of birds. YB Sapsuckers are a favorite. Here (90 miles north of Philadelphia) we see them only in winter as forests are hardwood.

Favorite is Acorn Woodpecker. They are just stunning. I had just one trip to New Mexico. One evening I took a walk on a road in the Gila National Forest and saw close to 20. Families just hang out on trees and make goofy calls. Gotta’ love them!

I am a guy birder for well over 40 years and continue to share links to your videos. Too many birders are listers and don’t take the time to appreciate the common birds like Blue Jays, so it is great to see your videos.

[rogerrynearson]

I would like to see you in the picture more often with the birds flying to your hand to feed. Love what you do, great videos.

[RachaelDeBruin]

I saw my first Black Backed Woodpecker for the first time in Algonquin Park a couple of years ago. I love woodpeckers!

[gary]

Your videos fly by... they're so interesting

[redpandaerin]

During college, I had the privilege of going with a biologist to check traps for red cockaded woodpeckers. My class got to see the habitat they live in, try climbing a tree with a tree ladder and waist belt to look at a nest cavity, and see a bird close up when we checked a trap. It was an already banded bird so the researcher collected some data and I got to release it afterwards. Such a cool experience.

[dylankopff]

Personal favorite.. pileated of course..

[MrTmiket]

I love all your videos and awesome content, thanks for sharing 🤗🙏

[cheaplaughkennedy]

Wife and I spotted a Red Headed Woodpecker today, beautiful bird . Enjoyed watching Leslie, thanks .👍👌

[scottyg.]

I loved this video, thanks. When we first moved to Beaumont in East Texas, I looked, but couldn't ever see the Pileated or Red Head that lived here. After hearing an audio of their calls and looking for them when I heard their call, I started seeing them and learning their habits. Now I see them all the time.

I was raised on a farm and the Pileated sounds like a hen cackling. Their nick name around here is Indian Hen.

[andrewgaffney]

I had the pleasure of photograpghing a Red-headed Woodpecker, on Cape Cod this June. I also had a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker come to my garden fishpond in early spring. They are amazing creatures.

[markheld]

I have a lot of gila and flickers here in New River Az they really like the woodpecker suet and they drink from my hummingbird feeder.

[dyrldouglas]

Since retirement, I've become somewhat of a bird watcher, I ENJOY your videos.

[bird.passion]

Great video! The Acorn Woodpecker has interesting calls. I love hearing their "waka waka" call but they have another call that sounds similar to Woody Woodpecker, the cartoon character. It’s been reported that Woody Woodpecker was inspired by a noisy Acorn Woodpecker that disrupted animator Walter Lantz's honeymoon by persistently calling and drumming on the couple's cabin. Lantz's wife Gracie suggested that Walter make a cartoon character of the bird — and so Woody was created.

[leorapier]

I loved seeing red cockaded woodpeckers at the Fort Bragg military reservation. It is most endangered bird I have seen. Red headed woodpeckers are a treat also.

[thebackyardbugs]

I saw a Pileated woodpecker for the first time today and that was so cool!! That was the highlight of my day!

[debbyfazfphotography]

I love your delightful videos and narrations, Lesley! 🥰 They are wonderful and informative! We had a pair of redheaded woodpeckers in our yard all summer. The male arrived first, on May 28. After being here for a while, he disappeared for a few days. I was so disappointed when he left. Suddenly, he reappeared with a mate! I was stunned on June 17th, when I witnessed them sailing through our backyard together and landing high up in the maple tree he'd been preparing and storing his cache in. I watched as she scoped it out, and then flew to a nearby stand of trees. He flew after her. They dickered and flew back and forth between the trees but eventually, she won. I named the pair, Lucy and Desi. He was considerably larger, which was how I could tell them apart. Like her famous namesake, Lucy loved attention and posing for pictures, but Desi was more aloof. They nested and produced one baby, that I saw. It followed Dad Desi to a feeder one day. It perched on a tree branch and watched him eat. It was partially concealed, but I saw its full brown head. Unfortunately, I did not I did not have my camera nearby, so I watched to see the baby emerge. When Desi flew back up to their tree, Little Ricky (or Lucy II) followed closely, matching Dad's every move. I was very sad not to have gotten any pictures of the young one because I only saw it once. I hope nothing got it because with our abundance of wildlife here, we also have an abundance of predators. 😢 I am hoping they will eventually return as they stored up a large food supply over the summer months when they were in residence.