Lewis’ woodpecker
Melanerpes lewis
L 9″
Habitat: Open or parklike ponderosa pine forest is probably the major breeding habitat of the Lewis’ woodpecker. These woodpeckers also nest in burned over stands of Douglas-fir, mixed conifer, pinyon-juniper, riparian, and oak woodlands (Bock 1970).
Nest: The Lewis’ woodpecker generally excavates its own nest cavity, but will use natural cavities or holes excavated in previous years. Bock (1970) summarized the following nest data: height range 5 to 170 feet; 47 nests in dead stubs and 17 in live trees; 29 nests in conifers, 31 in cottonwood and sycamore, 6 in oaks, 2 in power poles, 1 in juniper, and 1 in catalpa. At Boca Reservoir, California, 10 of 11 nests were in dead ponderosa pines, and the other was in a hollow section of a living pine.
Food: Insects, including flies, ladybird beetle larvae, tent caterpillars, ants, and mayflies, were the primary food of Lewis’ woodpeckers during spring and summer (Bock 1970). Fruits and berries were the most frequently used food in late summer and fall, while winter food consisted mostly of acorns and almonds gathered and stored in crevices of dead trees, power poles, and oak bark. Hadow (1973) reported that, on snowy days when insects were inactive, Lewis’ woodpeckers in southeastern Colorado spent 99 percent of their feeding time feeding from caches of acorns and corn kernels.
Yellow-bellied sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
L 7¾″