Normally I see woodpeckers high in the trees, but some of my fellow photographers spotted this Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) pecking about on the ground below a tree and pointed it out to me. The woodpecker appeared to be collecting acorns and then hopped upward onto the tree carrying an acorn in its bill.
Initially I was perplexed, because I tend to think of woodpeckers driving their bills into trees in search of insects, not transporting acorns. Then I remembered back to last winter, when I observed some Red-headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) at my local marshland park stockpiling acorns in the hollow of a tree. Is it possible that Red-bellied Woodpeckers do the same thing?
I checked out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, my favorite website for information about birds, and it confirmed that Red-bellied Woodpeckers “also use cracks in trees and fence posts to store food for later in the year, a habit it shares with other woodpeckers in its genus.”
It might be my imagination, but if you look closely at the final shot below, you can see what the outlines of what appear to be several acorns just a bit below the woodpecker’s bill. It’s a mystery to me how the woodpecker remembers where it has stockpiled food and how it keeps other birds from stealing it, but I have to assume that the woodpecker knows what it is doing.
The recent cold weather reminds me that winter is almost here and this bird seems to be preparing for those tougher times to come.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I love these woodpeckers. They visit my feeder and I love to see them every time. I have a wealth of acorns in my garden but have not witnessed them lifting them. I do see what look like acorns in that final shot.
Thanks for confirming that the acorns in the final shot may not be totally my imagination. I love woodpeckers of all sorts, though I sometimes get confused in identifying them. Most of the ones that I see are the smaller Downy Woodpeckers, which I think do not store food like the Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers do.
I’m rather reliant on the Cornell app to identify birds here. Birds in the UK I could identify but there are so many new species here for me that the kids and I often resort to using the app. We get visits from all those woodpeckers you mention. I guess they are the common ones.
Love the woodpeckers too, great pics, but loved the info, nice, learned something.
Thanks. I often take photos and am not sure what species. I’ll usually do a little research before I do a posting and enjoy sharing with others what I happened to learn.
I’ve noticed quite a few of these in the backyard lately. They are fun to watch. They are quite busy. Nice shots.
Thanks, Dan. I see Downy Woodpeckers a lot more often, but will keep my eyes and ears open. I’m hoping this winter to be able to get some good shots of a Pileated Woodpecker.
I don’t think a single acorn goes to waste in the forest. There are so many birds and animals that eat them. I didn’t know that these little woodpeckers ate them though. They must peck through the shell to get at the meat. You got some excellent shots of him! It does look like he has completely plugged that hole with acorns.
Hi Mike. I believe the woodpecker is caching the nuts. I did a post on GWGT explaining this behavior. Many birds do it and they do remember where they put the nuts. In my post I have a nuthatch caching nuts and other songbirds watching to make the steal. Good you noticed, many never would watch long enough to know what is going on. I did not know this particular woodpecker cached food. I will be watching them now for it in the future.
I am always amazed to watch these creatures make it through our harsh winters. I have planted a lot of berry bushes in the garden to assist where I can.
I always wonder the same thing about the squirrels. Sometimes they come into our garden and I’ve found their buried treasure in plant tubs in the past.
Love that 1st image! So vibrant, with the sharpness of the bird against the hazy background, but what really makes it is the shaping of his beak around that acorn 😀
Thanks, Sarah. I took this photo from a pretty good distance away, which is one of the reasons why I showed so much of the background. The photo has a monochromatic feel that really makes the red color of the woodpecker’s head pop. I was thrilled that I captured the acorn in the mouth–I agree that’s what makes this photo stand out from the others.
It’s nice to see the habitat of the bird sometimes! It tells more of a story.
You’re absolutely right. I sometimes forget the importance of the habitat in my zeal to get close-up shots with both my telephoto and my macro lenses.
I think it’s something we all do! The temptation to get as close as possible is just too much.
Hi, Mike. I found your blog quite by accident a few months ago and absolutely love it. Somehow, those of us that love nature and photography find each other one way or another. Woodpeckers are one of my favorites for sure. We have mostly Downy’s, Hairy’s, and Pileated’s, but a couple of times in the winter a Red-bellied will show up. How lucky could I be?? We live in a beautiful part of northern NY, but the winter’s are rather brutal. I keep the suet and seed feeders full at all times and really love to see the Woodpeckers enjoy all that’s offered. Your photos of the Red-bellied are fantastic. They made my day! Thank you for writing such a wonderful blog. I always look forward to it.
Take care –
Ginny Alfano
Thanks for such a thoughtful, informative response. I’m always intrigued to know about those who are following my postings. Here in Northern Virginia we are fortunate to have relatively mild winters and consequently have lots of birds passing through the area (and it’s not too cold to go out to search for them). I’m kind of an opportunistic photographer, so you never know what will show up on the blog. Thanks again for your kind words.
Great shots and fascinating info. 😊M
The Red Bellies at my folks house take all the sunflower seeds and make a mess out of the suet feeders..:-)
Great shots..:-)
Thanks, Ed. It’s the time of the year, I guess, when all of little creatures try to stockpile food to help sustain them through the inhospitable winter conditions.
[…] Preparing for winter […]