American Three-toed Woodpecker

1/250s at f8.0 ISO:400, Canon Mark III 1Ds w/800mm


The breeding habitat of the Three-toed Woodpecker is coniferous forests across western Canada, Alaska and the Midwestern United States. The female lays 3 to 7 but most often 4 eggs in a nest cavity in a dead conifer or sometimes a live tree or pole. The pair excavates a new nest each year. This bird is normally a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south and birds at high elevations may move to lower levels in winter. Three-toed Woodpeckers forage on conifers in search of wood-boring beetle larvae or other insects. They may also eat fruit and tree sap. These birds often move into areas with large numbers of insect-infested trees, often following a forest fire or flooding.
B.C. Canada
 
06/29/2009