We have a bird walk scheduled at Merwin on November 13th at 8am. We are meeting at the parking area on the north side of the preserve.
Beautiful fall color in Hickory Leaves
You cannot miss Red-headed Woodpeckers in the fall at the Merwin Preserve. Their constant chatter and activity make them a conspicuous presence in the open woods. They are busy caching acorns and defending “their” trees from other birds like the large flocks of Grackles and Starlings that occupy the same habitat. When Grackles perch in the tree where the Red-headed Woodpecker is caching acorns, he stops and looks at them and assesses the situation. He frequently sets off and chases them out of the tree.
Like many other animals, Red-headed Woodpeckers were once considered a pest on farms, and orchard owners paid a bounty on them. They are omnivorous and eat insects, seeds and fruit. In the1800’s, one farmer shot over 100 of them out of a single cherry tree in a day. It is hard to imagine 100 Red-headed Woodpeckers on a farm today. They were also a popular “target” among sportsmen owing to their conspicuous nature and bold black, white and red appearance. Thankfully, we have moved past that stage of our history, and the Red-headed Woodpecker is still here. But, they are much diminished. They now face a broad suite of threats that have reduced their numbers across their range by 70%. The primary threat is loss of habitat. They once occupied over 7 million acres of oak savanna. We have reduced that habitat to 7,000 acres. Much of what is left is highly degraded and overgrown with invasive shrubs and trees, so there is very little space left for the woodpeckers. In the small amount of remaining, suitable habitat, they face additional threats from collisions with cars, competition for nest sites with European Starlings, and a lack of food due to the large-scale die off of insects.
Fortunately for us, the ParkLands Foundation has invested a large amount of resources into managing the Merwin Preserve along the Mackinaw River north of Bloomington/Normal over the past 30 years. The open oak/hickory woodland on the preserve has a robust and raucous population of Red-headed Woodpeckers in the fall and winter. When you walk down the trail at Merwin, you are walking back in time as you enter a healthy natural community. One of the first things that you notice is that the soil is covered in nuts. Acorns and hickory nuts are everywhere. This is part of the reason that the Red-headed Woodpeckers are here. A diverse population of mushrooms is also visible on the soil and decaying wood. This hints at the riotous life below ground, knitting together the fabric of native plants that make up this stunning plant community.
The most conspicuous and captivating part of the landscape are the trees. There are huge oak and hickory trees throughout the preserve, and they are growing in open habitat thanks to all the thinning, exotic species control and prescribed fires that ParkLands staff and volunteers have done to preserve the primary factors that once shaped our landscape. The large, dead oak trees are particularly conspicuous and important for the Red-headed Woodpeckers. This is where they store their acorns for the winter. If you watch them for long, you will see that they fly off and collect an acorn and return to the same snag to pound it into a crevice, hole or projection on the tree. They are very meticulous in choosing and positioning their stored food. They will tap and acorn into position and then remove it and move along the branch to a new location to try again. Once they are satisfied they often move up or down the branch checking on their other stored acorns, tapping them as they go.
They are fascinating to watch, these bold, brash and iconic birds of the oak savanna. They are a beautiful distillation of what was once a predominant feature of our landscape. A bird like this could capture the imagination and fuel tree planting and restoration. A hopeful endeavor, to bring together like-minded people in search of a common ground for all.
Red-headed Woodpecker
Dappled light and a prairie breeze
Flow over the muted colors of fall, ruffling feathers and ruffling leaves.
Flashes of white wings enliven the scene.
Flamboyant and sure of yourself. You shake the mighty oak.
Going about your day with familiar rhythms.
Connected to the clouds, the place, the seasons.
Your rolling chatter carries past gnarled oaks, acorns and snags.
A signal that this place belongs to you.
No bird can stop long near your beloved acorns. The ones you tend to with such care. Tapping into place, packing with bark, just so.
A future gift to yourself that you will unwrap. Or, maybe a gift to your family?
Do you spend your time wrapping up gifts?
The extravagant abundance of oaks makes it so.
