Open 24/7 all year long.
Many Minnesota birds are inclined to winter in warmer climates and have already headed out on their perilous journeys south. Not so the intrepid woodpeckers. Nine woodpecker species not only breed in Minnesota, but also spend their winters here.
Downy, hairy, red-bellied, pileated, red-headed, northern flicker, yellow bellied sapsucker, black-backed, and American three-toed woodpeckers can all be found hanging around for the holidays.
If you want to spot some of these stouthearted birds, the first place to check would be your backyard suet feeder. Second, check Woody’s diner. Just about any standing tree might have one. Head out to the trail and you’ll find a proliferation of Woody’s Diners. This one has at least six seats open for business. The first course on the menu today is a mélange of insect eggs and larvae, followed by four entree choices of ants, termites, beetles, or spiders, with a side of caterpillars or small bird eggs. A lucky diner might finish this off with a sweet desert of a small rodent. You won't find fine dining like this anywhere else in the woods.
"The saddest thing I ever did see Was a woodpecker peckin’ at a plastic tree. He looks at me, and 'Friend' says he, Things ain’t as sweet as they used to be”
Shel Silverstein
Some remarkable adaptations equip these impressive creatures for success. Woodpeckers have a muscle and tendon mechanism at the back of the jaw that acts like a shock absorber and their skulls are a bony matrix that compresses and expands like a sponge, protecting the bird’s brain up to 1,200g’s of force.
The long, sticky tongue is made of 9 thin bones wrapped in muscle attached to the floor of the mouth and extending along the inner jaw to the back of the head and then wrapping all the way up over the top of the skull to the nostrils. Like a powerful whip, it’s designed to reach deep into a hole, wrap around and yank out a tasty morsel.
And then there’s a pair of built-in goggles. During the millisecond before the beak contacts with wood, a thickened membrane closes over the eyes, protecting them from flying debris. Additionally modified feathers called bristles extend over the nostrils so that woodchips and sawdust won’t be inhaled.
Although I missed the photo of the bird, I have the evidence one was here. Nothing sad about that.
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