Austin, Texas
The other day I walked out our front door and heard loud distinct drumming. I looked up to see a beautiful female Downy Woodpecker! They are small woodpeckers (imagine between a Sparrow and Robin) and their bill isn't as big as other woodpeckers.
That first day she began to carve out the shape of the hole and it was amazing to watch and listen to her intense drumming (the term given for a Woodpeckers hammering loudly/rapidly). It was quite impressive how hard she worked and how fast her head moved back and forth. She was able to climb, move around and hang on the tree from all different angles! She began to be able to get her head deeper and deeper into the hole as she worked to dig it out tossing little wood pieces all around.
1st day Gallery of Pics
I learned that "Woodpeckers are superbly adapted to life in the trees. Their feet have two toes pointing forward and two pointing rearward with sharp pointed claws. This enables them to scale vertical tree trunks and other vertical surfaces to look for food and shelter. Their straight pointed bills and reinforced skulls help them to absorb the constant shock of pecking, chiseling, drilling, and drumming. Stiff tail feathers act as props (like a third leg) when the birds climb.'
The sun was out the next day and her white feathers blew beautifully in the slight breeze as she made steady progress digging the hole. She just kept working climbing in and out until it was deep enough to climb all the way in with just her tail feathers hanging out. Now I see her come and go using the hole. :)
2nd day Gallery of Pics
More cool Info from Link above about how they find the insects that they eat: "They use their long tongues with bristly tips to extract insects from holes in wood. They also rely on sound to locate prey. They can hear the rustling and chewing sounds that insects make in the wood."
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