Not a Red Headed Woodpecker!

Today, I watched as a woodpecker busily attacked the branches of the popcorn tree (Chinese Tallow Tree). It would go from limb to limb searching the seed pods for the round, white "popcorn". Once it would find a filled pod, it would work at pulling out the seed more oft than not dropping it to the ground. If it was successful in getting the seed, off it would fly to the nearby pine tree. At first, I had no idea what it was doing, then a thought as it pounded against the pine tree..maybe it is using the pine tree to crack the seeds! I could not be more wrong. I watched curiously as it did this over and over again. Extract a seed..fly to the pine tree..work a minute..then pound, pound, pound..then back to the popcorn tree. I nonchalantly moved closer to the pine tree. Pretending not to notice the bird, I managed to get relatively close so I had a much better view. It grabbed a seed and flew just above my head. To my surprise, it was not eating the seeds at all! Rather it was storing them in the bark of the pine tree! It would work at tucking the seed well behind a loose flap of the bark and then pound on the tree as if hunting for bugs. I believe all of the pounding was merely a diversionary tactic. This smart bird was trying to make other birds think it was searching for food not hiding it! I watched for quite some time as I weeded a flower garden. This Red Belly Woodpecker must of made nearly fifty trips back and forth between these two trees. Storing up food for the winter..and they say birds don't think! Ha! This bird is smarter than a lot of people that I know!

The Red Belly Woodpecker is quite common here on the Bayou. I see quite a number of them around the feeders daily. They have black and white stripes on their backs and gleaming red caps on their heads. Now these are not to be confused with their cousins. Please do not call them Red Headed Woodpeckers as this might totally offend the true Red Head. The Red Belly does indeed have a bright red cap, but it is not a total red head. The Red Headed Woodpecker does not have the stripes on its back and is smaller than the Red Belly. Its head is totally covered with

red feathers. It is also not as common as the other and its population has declined in recent years due to deforestation. The Red Headed Woodpecker is known to store food for the winter, but I have never observed the Red Belly Woodpecker doing this. Ahh..you learn something new every day!