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Hairy Woodpecker

Status Fairly common resident. Breeds. One of our most common woodpeckers. Though usually found nesting in wooded regions, it is commonly seen in settled areas, particularly in winter when it is often a patron at feeding stations. Its numbers may have increased slightly during the past several decades, but it is still reported less frequently than the Downy Woodpecker.

Description Length: 24-25 cm. Adult male: Back black with white stripe down centre; wings black, speckled with white; small scarlet patch on back of head; crown black; white patch above and below the eye, separated by a black patch; underparts white; tail black centrally, outer feathers white. Adult female: Similar but lacks the scarlet patch on head.

Breeding Nest: A cavity excavated by the bird in a tree. As is common practice with some of its relatives, it very often chooses a live poplar for its nest site, 3-12 m above ground. No lining other than wood chips is used. Eggs: 3-6, usually 4-5; glossy white. There is considerable irregularity in the date when nesting begins. For instance, on 12 May 1943 a female was seen busily excavating a nest at Black River, Kings County, but on 3 May 1924 a nest at East Margaretsville, Annapolis County, contained four eggs about one-half incubated. On 28 May 1905 two nests were located, one containing four eggs partly incubated and the other with young large enough to come to the entrance for food. A nest in a dead beech stub was one-half excavated on 10 April 1918 but the female did not finish laying her four eggs until 10 May.

Range Breeds from southern Alaska to Newfoundland and south to Panama. Winters throughout most of its nesting range.

Remarks It is very similar in appearance to the Downy Woodpecker, from which it can be distinguished by its larger size and by its white tail feathers, which lack the small transverse black bars that mark those of the smaller bird. Another good field mark at close range is length of the bills, that of the Hairy being noticeably longer than that of the Downy.

The nest I found at East Margaretsville was located within 50 m of a Great Horned Owl's nest containing two half-grown owlets. The presence of these fierce predators had not deterred the woodpeckers from selecting their own nest site even though the owls had been long established before the woodpeckers arrived.