Acorn Woodpeckers, Pecking Away

Photo: Sama Wareh

Dear Reader,
This story is about a girl Named Rose, here it goes. One sunny day out in the park a girl was bird watching.  This particular girl was named Rosealina Johnsen (or as everyone called her Rose). Rose was an 11 year old girl. Now, you might be wondering why Rose was in the park alone.  Well, her house was right next to the park so Rose’s parents could see her from their balcony.  

Now let’s go and see what Rose is doing.  Rose was looking at a particular tree. She heard a sort of drumming sound coming from the tree.  She was trying to spot the source of the noise, then she saw it! A bird with a red head, black wings, and a white belly.  It was quite a beauty, so she quickly took a picture with her camera. Then she rushed inside the house to search what bird it was.  She found out it was an Acorn Woodpecker.   
Here are some facts she found:
Clutch size: 3-6 eggs
Eggs are white
Condition at hatching: Blind,featherles, and helpless
Nesting Period: 30-32 days
Acorn Woodpeckers eat acorns and insects and other arthropods. The woodpeckers harvest acorns directly from oak trees and are famous for their habit of storing nuts—primarily acorns, but also almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, and pinyon pine nuts—in individually drilled holes in one or more storage trees. These are known as granaries and can have upwards of 50,000 nuts stored in them. 
Acorn Woodpeckers live year-round in oak and pine-oak woodlands of western Oregon, California, and the Southwest through Mexico and Central America.
Acorn Woodpeckers excavate multiple cavities, any one of which may be used for nesting (the rest are used for nocturnal roosting). They dig cavities in dead or living limbs, large or small, either in the granary (storage) tree or any other large tree. The woodpeckers reuse nest holes for many years.
Rose was delighted at the info that she found she decided that she would start getting outside more and take more hikes and do LOTS more bird watching.
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Acorn_Woodpecker/lifehistory

By: Sumaya Zayed  Age 11