Calgary’s Urban Woodpeckers
Although it is possible to find six* different species of woodpeckers in Calgary’s parks and natural areas, most birdwatchers are lucky to add more than just two to their backyard bird lists.
The most common of these are Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers which are present in Calgary communities all year round but which appear in greatest numbers in April and October as they migrate through our region.
The two species could not look less alike. Downy woodpeckers are small and mostly black and white. Northern Flickers, on the other hand, are a distinctive blend of patterned tans and greys with dozens of irregularly oblong spots beneath a heavy black crescent high up on their breast.
The most distinguishing (and most exciting) features of Northern Flickers are the blazing colours of their underwings. In most cases, Calgarians will see birds with a bright shade of redish-orange. In some cases, though, the wing linings will appear to be a vivid shade of buttercup yellow.
This difference in colour indicates not a difference in species but a difference in race. Those with redish-orange wing linings are called Red-shafted Northern Flickers while those with yellow linings are Yellow-shafted Northern Flickers.
Typically, in Canada, Yellow-shafted Flickers are an eastern race while Red-shafted Flickers are a western race. Calgary, in fact, lies in an area of overlap where both races can be found. Also common in the Calgary area — perhaps most common — are hybrids of the two races that carry the markings of both simultaneously.
Less common that either Flickers or Downy Woodpeckers in Calgary backyards are Hairy Woodpeckers. Nearly identical to Downy Woodpeckers in appearance, Hairy Woodpeckers are about 50 per cent larger. Their bills are also signficantly longer.
Hairy Woodpeckers prefer mature trees with larger branches than are usually found in Calgary communities. This restricts their range within the city to well-established areas near river valleys and other natural areas.
The same is true for Calgary largest woodpecker species, the Pilieated Woodpecker. Look for the blazing red cap of this duck-sized “Woody” woodpecker in communities that border Weaselhead, Fish Creek Park and Griffith’s Woods.
Also found in older areas, but much less frequently are Calgary’s two rarest woodpecker species — the Northern Three-toed Woodpecker and the Black-backed Woodpecker. Don’t count on seeing either species very often, though. Both are mountain species that prefer forests that have been recently burned and neither appears within our city’s limits every year.
The presence of food and water in any Calgary backyard will of course increase the odds of seeing any woodpecker species, common or otherwise.
Woodpeckers are insectivores with specialized physical characteristics that allow them to find insects living beneath the bark of trees. During winter months, however, suet feeders can provide an attractive alternative to hibernating insects which are not always easy to find — even for those species that evolution has equipped to find them.
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* Author’s note: I’m not sure why I ommited Red-naped Sapsuckers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and hybird sapsuckers when I wrote this piece, but I did. My apologies to everyone for this. All three of these species are common in Calgary backyards during migration periods.
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Brent Johner has been writing about urban wildlife since 1998. Many of the articles here first appeared in the Calgary Herald, Calgary Gardening magazine or on Talk About Wildlife. Brent has also done dozens of radio, television, newspaper and magazine interviews on the subject of urban wildlife.