~January 2023

Acorn Woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers with straight, spike-like bills and stiff, wedge-shaped tails used for support as the birds cling to tree trunks.

These woodpeckers live in oak and mixed oak-evergreen forests on slopes and mountains in the Southwest and West Coast. They’re tolerant of humans, and you can find them in towns where there are acorns and suitable places to store them.

Males have a red cap and whitish forehead. In flight you can see their white rump and with patches.

Females have a black back and black cap. Their red feathers on the head is restricted to the back of the head unlike males.

They are very unusual woodpeckers that live in large groups, hoard acorns, and breed cooperatively. Group members gather acorns by the hundreds and wedge them into holes they’ve made in a tree trunk or telephone pole. Acorn Woodpeckers also spend considerable time catching insects on the wing. They give raucous, scratchy waka-waka calls frequently.

I found a youtube vid of Acorn Woodpeckers storing acorns in tree trucks. See link below. Very interesting to watch them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNjJW49qauY