The distance they will travel depends on the food sources available to them. Downy Woodpeckers in these northern areas migrate southward in the winter. Although they are year-round residents in their territories, they do move to different areas, so they seem to appear and disappear with the change of seasons.Ĭanada is the northernmost part of its range, and the Downy is found from the island of Newfoundland across to James Bay, the northern Prairie Provinces, the southern Mackenzie District of the Northwest Territories, northern British Columbia, to the Yukon. Great numbers dwell in the Shenandoah National Park where they are among the few avian species to remain there throughout the winter. Those states include sections of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Alaska. with the exception of Hawaii and some parts of the southwestern states. Even Alaska is home to them, and they are found across Canada and south throughout the U.S. They can be seen from the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico northwards. In these areas, the replacement of wooden fence posts -which have in the past supplied them with roosting places and food sources- with metal posts is a concern.ĭownys reside in nearly all of the North American continent and in parts of Canada. ![]() Even though widespread forest clearing has robbed the Downy of some of its habitat, it has compensated by utilizing areas that have been cleared for agriculture. The Downy Woodpecker benefits from a moderate amount of forest thinning, since they survive quite nicely in early, second-growth forests which contain more open stands of trees than in older forests. Allowing these to remain is vital to the continuation of healthy populations of these and other cavity-nesting birds. Woodpeckers require woodland areas with dead trees and snags in which to build their nests. But some areas are showing population decline as territories are being invaded for development. In general, data obtained by census-takers indicates that the Downy’s populations are stable in North America in fact, in Canada, their numbers have even increased in the last 20 to 30 years. He can be seen clutching tightly to the tree branch or trunk, bobbing his head all the while he is scooting up and down the tree, moving in a circular pattern, then darting from side to side with astonishing swiftness. ![]() As he climbs, he supports himself on his rigid, pointed rectrices these tail feathers actually prop him up and sustain his weight as he works his way up and around the tree. His short legs and zygodactyl feet afford him an exceptional grip against the bark. Typical of nearly all Woodpeckers, the Downy is an excellent and agile climber. He consumes countless destructive insects, such as the wood-boring ones and their larvae this provides great economic benefit to the community. But the Downy is not here just for the viewer’s benefit he contributes to the health of our ecosystems. People everywhere appreciate the Downy’s antics, and bird watchers gladly supply them with food and water, particularly during the winter months. And just as other Woodpeckers do, they drum and make whinnying noises during the nesting season. ![]() They fly in an undulating manner and are able to move more acrobatically than larger Woodpeckers. Downy Woodpeckers ( Picoides pubescens) – also known as Batchelder’s Woodpeckers, Gairdner’s Woodpeckers, Southern Downy or Willow Woodpeckers – are the most diminutive of America’s Woodpeckers, and they are the group that is most familiar to people.Ī group of woodpeckers has many collective nouns, including a “descent”, “drumming”, and “gatling” of woodpeckers.ĭowny Woodpeckers fasten themselves on tree limbs and trunks and swing out to drop into tall weeds to feed on galls, (abnormal outgrowths on the surface of plant tissues caused by various parasites-fungi, bacteria, insects and mites).
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