Lewis's Woodpecker - Melanerpes lewis

On our December trip to the Central Valley refuges we stopped by Lake Solano Park to see if the Lewis's Woodpeckers might still be there, and were not disappointed. We watched one particular bird at a granary tree. It would leave and find an acorn and bring it back to this snag. The broken top of the tree served as an anvil, on which the bird hammered to break open the acorn and extract the meat. These photos were taken over a 3-1/2 minute interval, during which time I also took a very poor quality video to try and show the activity.

Photo #1 shows the broad view of the top of the snag, with what looks like an acorn wedged in the hollow (smooth rounded bit that looks like a finger-tip). Note the green sheen of the back feathers, the impressive zygodactyl toes, and the use of the strong tail feathers to create a firm anchor to the tree. (Zygodactyl toe arrangement refers to the arrangement of the 4 toes of a bird in which the innermost toe has been rotated to point backwards, the 2 middle toes stay pointing forward, and the outermost toe backward, i.e. 2 toes forward and 2 backward, great for gripping tree bark. Seen in woodpeckers and other birds such as parrots.)

In photo #2 I think it is reaching for an acorn stashed earlier in a crevice. A shaky video was then attempted, which shows him extracting the acorn, placing it in the hollowed anvil portion of the snag, and then hammering at it to extract the mast: 

At this point I attempted a video: Lewis's Woodpecker video

Success! In Photo #3 the meat of the acorn has been extracted, after which the bird left to quickly cache the future meal in another portion of the dead tree and then back to open another acorn. The beautiful maroon color of the face is muted because of the overcast lighting.

The last, #4, shows how the the feet of the woodpecker fully released from the tree as it forcefully drove the bill downward, sort of "action and reaction" I guess.

I presume the Lewis's will remain in the Lake Solano Park area for another month or two, as those birds that elect to migrate will usually leave in late March/April, although most will not travel great distances. This year witnessed many more Lewis's Woodpecker sightings in Californnia's Bay Area than usual.

Lewis's Woodpecker - Melanerpes lewis

At Lake Solano Park, near the end of Pleasants Valley Road, 10-15 Lewis's Woodpeckers were busy sallying out from the tops of the trees to catch flying insects. Others carrying acorns, some so large the bird would lose it in flight.

Birds at the tops of trees are a challenge for the photographer, and the Lewis's rarely stayed for any length of time before launching for another insect:

The above photo shows the adult Lewis's WP, with red face, gray chest and collar, rose belly and green back. Note the bill, shape, which is rather broad at the gape to facilitate capture of flying prey. The bill is less sturdy than that of many woodpeckers, so Lewis's has to find a dead tree to excavate a nest hole, often choosing a burned Ponderosa Pine forest in the foothills, or further north.

Turns out that Lewis's Woodpeckers cache food much like their Acorn Woodpecker cousins, using a tree as a granary to sustain them when other food sources are diminished during the winter. Rather than using carefully constructed holes to hold each morsel, the Lewis's will break the acorns and stash the mast in nooks and crannies of tree bark, or in a cavity. The cache is aggressively defended, as there is a lot of poaching by Acorns Woodpeckers, and vice versa.

We saw a number of Lewis's there that were darker and more monochromatic, indicating a juvenile bird, and some like in the second photo that were just replacing their juvenal plumage with adult type feathers, with red in the face, green sheen on the back and rose underparts. No problem confusing this species with any other woodpecker, for sure.

Lewis's Woodpecker is an bird of western U.S., with a breeding range that includes southern Canada and a wintering range that includes Baja California. Their numbers have declined, and they are rarely seen in large numbers at any location. Some of them don't migrate at all, or form small flocks to search for productive foraging areas. Such nomadic behavior makes finding them unpredictable, kind of like looking for a roving flock of Pinyon Jays. In some years Lake Solano park becomes a destination for the winter, as there is a good supply of acorns, flying insects, and one of their favorite berries, that of the Oak Mistletoe. Which brings us to another great reason to visit Lake Solano Park, as the mistletoe attracts a small population of Phainopepla each year. Other goodies there includes a good selection of river ducks and dabblers, along with Wood Ducks. Best go on a weekday if possible, as it is a popular area for picnics, fishing, etc.

Here's an older shot of an adult Lewis's Woodpecker, from a trip to the Central Valley: