There’s always something in the woods
While wandering about yesterday I ran across a fallen pine that had gotten hung up in another tree on it’s way down. It hadn’t fallen completely to the ground and in it was a small woodpecker home. The entrance hole was not nearly as easy to spot as it appears in the photos but that’s one of the things I love about the woods. The closer you look, the more you see going on.
The entrance hole is only about 3′ off the ground. This one is most likely a Downy woodpecker as the hole size is about right, 1-1.5 inches across and the depth correct as well, about 6′ deep. Downy woodpeckers frequently nest in smaller stubs that are an average 7″ in diameter and lean downward. The entrance is most often located on the underside of the stub, excavated in wood which has been infected with fungus that softens the tree, making excavating the nest easier. Usually the entrance is a bit higher off the ground but they have been known to nest lower, anywhere from 3′-50′. Downys are monogamous and in winter they will roost in separate holes but can bee seen together during the day. Right now a male downy is roosting in one of my chickadee bird houses at night.
Then again, perhaps it is not a Downy woodpecker. Still, I love the small discoveries any patch of woods will be filled with.
Build a Convertible Winter Roosting Box, Bird House
It’s so try that the closer you look, the more you see going on. An untrained eye would probably dismiss the first photo as an uniteresting piece of forest but there is so much activity hiding in plain sight.
Debbie/GardenofPossibilities recently posted..The Natives are Restless
I had to crawl under things to see that hole in the log. One thing leads to another and you realize that the woods are so occupied. It’s beautiful.
There’s always something in the woods
…is why I always watch where I step. We all know what bears do.
Lately the snow is keeping me from wandering in the woods but I can see similar cavities from my front window. None are occupied, they were hammered out by sapsuckers that have left for the winter.
wiseacre recently posted..Snow Bound