Hairy woodpecker nest - both adults involved in caring for chicks

Male Hairy woodpecker (left) and female with chick (right).  Lake Wabamun Provincial Park.

Every once in a while, I come across a woodpecker nest with young birds in it.  This year it happens to be the nest of a Hairy woodpecker.  Both male and female parents have been sharing the task of feeding.

I discovered the nest because of the frequent calls of the chicks.  Their repetitive calls expressing, "Feed me, I'm hungry!" to the harried parents (perhaps that's where the name comes from?)  Its name actually comes from the long, hair-like feathers that run down the center of the bird's back. 

It took me a while to find the nest; it wasn't until I saw a parent fly up to the hole that I located it.  Something that surprised me was that the hole was in the trunk of a live tree.  I often find woodpecker holes in dead trees, but few in living ones.  I don't know how many chicks are present.

Hairy woodpeckers can be found throughout most of Canada and much of the US.  They are also found in Mexico, although they prefer the cooler mountain regions there.  They are also full-time residents.  I photographed them in winter in Edmonton a few years back.  I photographed both a hairy and a downy woodpecker on the same winter trail I was on.  You can see the blog here.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com