Did you know that I can peck on wood as fast as 20 times a second? I’m a Beaverton Woodpecker!

The term “woodpecker” comprises over 20 different birds, including woodpeckers, flickers and sapsuckers. In Beaverton the most common woodpeckers are the Pileated, Hairy and Downy, the Northern Flicker and the Red-Breasted Sapsucker.

Heavy logging in Oregon nearly wiped out the Pileated, but with reforestation in the early 1900s, their population increased. The Pileated is the largest in the woodpecker family, with a body nearly 20 inches long. Its name comes from the Latin “pileated”, which means “capped”, because of its large red feather crown. Downy woodpeckers are about 6 inches long. They prefer searching deciduous trees for bugs, and they are the most common woodpeckers in Beaverton. Hairy woodpeckers are about 10 inches long, and they prefer more mature evergreen forests and their numbers are declining.

A woodpecker’s tongue is about one third of its body length, and wraps around their skull, stabilizing their brain during the pecking impact. Dense neck muscles also reduced whiplash during pecking. These features inspired the sport’s Q-collar, which reduces sloshing of the brain during collisions. A woodpecker’s skull bone structure is energy absorbent. Helmets are now made of energy absorbent material. Even with all these protections, woodpeckers can still suffer brain injuries.

Woodpecker feet help the bird cling vertically on a tree trunk. This is possible because they have two toes pointed forward and two backward. Their sharp claws also make it easier to hold on to the bark, and their short, stiff tails help stabilize and prop the bird in an upward position.

It is interesting to note the differences in the patterns of the holes that woodpeckers make. Woodpeckers have excellent hearing, so their pecking is random. They tap and listen. Their tapping makes bugs move, so woodpeckers know if there is food. Most holes are about one inch deep and are usually made on unhealthy or dead trees. Woodpeckers tend to do most of their pecking early in the morning or late afternoon and can make up to 20 pecking strikes per second!

Northern Flickers are about 13 inches long and are easily identified by the red feathers under their wings and black “bib” on the chest. It is more often observed pecking the ground, hunting for ants, but it does get bugs from trees. All birds in the woodpecker group have a hook or hooks on the tip of their tongue, which helps grab insects.

Red-Breasted Sapsuckers are 8 inches long, and they peck holes to get sap. Not only do they drink the sugar rich sap, but also let it drip, so it draws bugs. Their saliva coats their tongue with glue-like mucus and helps snare the bugs. They also do “bark scaling”—removing small strips of bark looking for insects. Sapsuckers tend to peck holes in straight horizontal lines.

Woodpeckers also “drum”—light tapping is used to attract a mate and to stake out territory. Pileated make the largest nesting cavities, which can be 10 to 24 inches deep. Both woodpecker parents help raise their young. The chicks fledge in 21 to 30 days after hatching, and in that short period of time the parents have taught the young birds everything they need to know to survive!

How many different woodpeckers can you find in our Beaverton parks?

Nancy Yeend is a local grandmother, a retired Realtor, and mediator/dispute management strategist. She enjoys going to parks, identifying birds and visiting memory care facilities with her Therapy Dog, Wolfie.