Red-headed woodpecker

A flash of red, white, and black crossing a fence line is usually the only warning. The red-headed woodpecker is the showstopper of the woodpecker family, and in Manitoba it is a bird you have to earn: a summer visitor to the southern part of the province, arriving in May and favouring open woodland, oak and aspen groves, and old dead trees. Seeing one is never guaranteed, which is half the fun.

Unlike most woodpeckers, red-headed woodpeckers often catch insects on the wing, darting out from a post like a flycatcher. They also stash food, tucking acorns and insects into bark crevices for later. Adults have a completely crimson head and males and females look alike, while young birds have a brown head and only gradually colour up. Their numbers have fallen across much of their range, partly from the loss of the dead trees they nest in, and they head south for the winter by early fall.

Red-headed woodpecker in flight beside a fence post

Photos

  • Red-headed woodpecker in flight beside a fence post
  • Red-headed woodpecker clinging to a weathered trunk beside a nest hole against a blue sky
  • Red-headed woodpecker clinging to a trunk next to a white birch
  • Red-headed woodpecker perched on a weathered post
  • Red-headed woodpecker perched on an oak branch

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