Red-headed Woodpecker
Riverside Park, New York City
Image by CAL VORNBERGER
(add'l RHWO images by Cal — at site click images to advance)
This afternoon I headed over to Riverside Park after spending some time in Central Park at the reservoir to view the Common Loon. The loon was located on the east side of the divide and was feeding for a good portion of the time I was observing it.
At Riverside Park there is an immature Red-headed Woodpecker which was discovered on December 15th by Lenore Swenson.
Today was my first attempt to see it. At 2:45pm I arrived at the spot, just west of 92nd St. and Riverside Drive, and was lucky enough to observe it before I was able to get my binoculars out.
The major of the activity, including an evening roost hole, is located just west of the road where the M5 bus runs. The territory extends at least from 91st to 93rd St.
In direct sunlight this bird shows a small amount of red behind the eye and some red along the base of the neck. It is actively defending a territory chasing off many Tufted Titmice and the occasional starling.
It was often managing its food cache by adding to it or moving items from one sight to another. At one point it made use of some fibers to help seal in a spot which was just filled with an acorn.
Woodpecker vs. Starling
There was an incident between a starling and the woodpecker. Around 4:10pm the starling was perched near the freshly made roost hole created by the woodpecker. When the woodpecker flew a short distance away from the hole the starling bee-lined it to the hole making itself at home.
Almost immediately the Red-headed Woodpecker flew to the edge of the hole, peered in a few times and then entered it and somehow came up with a starling. When the intruder was brought to the edge of the hole both birds started to fall and just before hitting the ground they separated. The starling flew back up to a perch near the hole.
The woodpecker returned and perched at the hole's edge. The woodpecker peered in it a few times and then entered but left a few moments later. The starling was still in the same location above the hole so the woodpecker decided to fly at the starling a few times which eventually drove it off towards the north. The starling never returned to bother the woodpecker.
Roost Hole
I went to the site tonight to see if it was possible to find out where the woodpecker would roost for the night. I've followed the roosting activities of wintering Red-headed Woodpeckers in Central Park and found this a rewarding activity.
Tonight the event took longer than I thought it would. In the past, I recalled the Red-heads would go to roost well before sunset. In those days I would watch a Red-headed go to roost and then would have plenty of time to arrive at the Long-eared Owl roost to watch them fly out.
Tonight at 4:38pm the Red-headed Woodpecker entered the hole the starling attempted to take and after dipping its head in and out around 30 times it entered for the evening. The woodpecker was visibile for a short time afterwards since it poked its head out giving the three by-standers great looks in the waning light. Also at the post fly-in were Mike and Marie Winn.