Description

Red-headed woodpeckers are migratory in our part of the world (NW Wisconsin) – we do not expect to see them in the wintertime. It was a bit of a surprise then, when one showed up on our feeder at the end of January (2019). It was the worst possible time – the polar vortex was sweeping down across the northern states and the temperature on our coldest night plummeted to -40 F. The woodpecker would arrive at the feeder in the morning with his back covered in frost. He seemed very lethargic at first, spending his days clinging to a Norway pine in our yard, moving only to come to the feeder for peanuts or to eat snow from the branches of the tree. He survived though, and became a regular, if increasingly infrequent, visitor to our feeder throughout the winter.

Category

Category 1: Birds with Food, or at the Feeder

Species

• Red-headed Woodpecker

Tags

• peanuts
• winter
• red-headed
• woodpecker
• feeder
• snow