Date: 5/4/25 9:01 pm From: David Yeamans via groups.io <davidralphyeamans...> Subject: [EBB-Sightings] Acorn Woodpecker -- Adult male feeding juvenile male.
Several of us went to Sycamore Grove (Arroyo entrance) and then to Arroyo del Valle where we observed two acorn woodpeckers at one nest cavity. One was outside and the other was poking its head out from inside. I didn't think much of it but grabbed a couple of photos anyway.
When I was driving home I saw an acorn woodpecker in the road near Wente pond. As I approached, I saw it was two woodpeckers, one dead and one checking up on it. Unfortunately I was unable to avoid a collision and now there are two dead woodpeckers. I stopped and did some analysis and photographic documentation of the two birds. One adult male and one juvenile male. This got me to thinking about the two birds at the nest cavity so I studied the photo and found that the adult male at the tree cavity nest was feeding the juvenile male.
I didn't make a checklist for the dead birds but I have a lot of photos if anyone wants to study them. Among the things I noticed were "baby belly" on the juvenile, fade lines and feather wear on the adult, and a surprise about growth bars. The adult showed aligned growth bars on two adjacent secondaries but no growth bars were visible in the next two, older, secondary feathers. Maybe the bars had faded on the older feathers. Whatever the case it indicates symmetric molt. Oddly I didn't observe growth bars on the juvenile flight feathers or retrices, but it was only me looking. Maybe sharper eyes would see them.
