acorn woodpecker ~ 02/22/11 ~ J's place

acorn woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus

Whenever I go visit a friend across town on the ocean side of the peninsula, I make sure to put my point-and-shoot camera in my pocket. I often see birds there that I never see at home, even though we only live a few miles apart. She has birdbaths, feeders galore, and a bird watching station facing a picture window next to her kitchen, instead of the traditional dining room table, complete with a comfy chair, binoculars, nature journal, a pile of bird books, and a huge camera that definitely would not fit in anyone's pocket. Gotta love her! I took these pictures behind her house. It looks like these acorn woodpeckers are making a granary tree out of this dead Monterey pine. They're the funniest looking birds. As I was searching for information this morning, I discovered the distinctive laugh of one of my childhood favorite cartoons, Woody the Woodpecker, was modeled after the the acorn woodpecker (click on the scientific name above to hear its call). Fellow blogger Julie Zickefoose wrote an NPR article about this. There you go, a tidbit of information.

ps 08/07/11 - For another blogger who writes about the famous cartoon inspiration, check out Shooting My Universe.