[mou] Three-toed Woodpeckers in two Harbors (Long)

[Alt, Mark]

Three-toed Woodpeckers are hard to find.  This challenge prompted Peter
Neubeck and I to set forth for Two Harbors, MN along lake Superior in
search of Three-toeds, a lifer for Mr. Neubeck and a really cool bird to
see for me. In the woods behind the two Harbors lighthouse, I met Adam
Rayburn, an MD in residence at Rochester Mayo, and his father, an
Illinois Ornithological Society member.  We discussed the finer points
of finding these rare birds. I had been recording audio with my
parabolic mike, (Gray Jays were very cooperative this day), and returned
to my car to pack the audio gear away and pick up my video camera when
Peter pulled in.  Adam came clear out to get me, saying his dad was on a
Woodpecker. We moved along the trail briskly, and came upon the
stakeout, to the right of the trail as it makes a bend to the left; Mr.
Rayburn stood peering upwards into a large Spruce with dead-looking
foliage still clinging to its long lateral branches. I filmed Peter as
he got the bird in view - he had chased this bird for many years, then
turned my camera on the bird, a female Three-toed Woodpecker, feeding
with rigor along the bottom side of a small lateral branch, about 5-6
meters high. I filmed it for about 20 seconds, and then it flew away
towards the denser trees inland. We spent the next two hours looking for
this bird, to no avail. I did find two Black-backed Woodpeckers, both
female, yet the forest is so dense, no opportunity to shoot them on
video presented itself. These birds are hard to find and harder to get
good looks at.=20
5 Downy Woodpeckers and a couple of Hairies were at work in the area,
each requiring great effort for identification. Several deer, including
a massive buck, many Brown Creepers, a single Golden-crowned Kinglet,
and many Gray Jays (three seen at one time) At noon, we went and grabbed
lunch and headed for the Gold Course to see Cackling Geese. The birds
were barely visible from the road, so I went in to the shop to ask
permission to walk the course, and the staff was so helpful, they
actually rented us a golf cart (electric even). Thus mobilized, with
video cameras on board, we were like Marlin Perkins and his fearless
assistant Jim as we headed off across the verdant fairways, in search of
cacklers. We crossed over four fairways and drove to a high point to
scan the geese, when Peter noticed a massive flocking of Snow Buntings
in the area. We stalked the birds to get closer, using a row of pines,
and then found the birds to be pretty fearless. A conservative estimate
of the count would be over 3,000 birds. There was very little wind, so
when the birds would lift off, we would hear a cacophony of noise, a
combination of 6,000 wings fluttering and the utterance of the buzzy
flight calls.  Describing it is difficult., perhaps a mix of thumbing
speedily though a book's pages by flexing the cover and allowing the
pages to snap past your thumb as it releases each page, with the hint of
vocalizations coming at the tail end of the sound, like an aftershock.
The birds would make the sound as they lifted off hen if they sustained
flight; the sound went away until hey landed. Many times they would lift
off, the entire flock going 3 feet in to the air, and then they would
turn and settle back in place. This was when the sound was loudest.
There were as many as 20 seen flycatching (or drinking water?) over the
nearby pond.  The birds were very tightly flocked; at times, 95% were on
an area no larger than a football field. They would occasionally split
into smaller groups, but never for long, and during the half hour we
observed them, 70% of the time they were in a single, dense flock. When
on the ground, they appeared as light brown spots on the green grass,
when they lifted off their wings flashed brilliant white, then as the
flock wheeled in a spiral, the flashed black and then light brown as the
landed. I have only ever seen flocks move like this in large groups of
shorebirds, where they form a spiraling flock, low to the ground and
then alighting again, still in a densely packed flock., literally wing
to wing. We were able to film this from about 75 yards away; it was one
of the most beautiful things I have witnessed.  A Merlin jetted in at
one point, flying 3 feet off of the ground, like a baby Gyrfalcon,
parting the flock, then focusing on one bird which veered sharply
upward, the Merlin flared its tail and wings and veered to follow,
swallow-like,  upwards, managing to hit  but not disable its prey. The
Buntings dispersed out of sight; the Merlin assumed a sentry position
atop a nearby spruce.  5 Merlins were seen this day, all of them being
dark in plumage. This one was a male. We spotted a Greater Yellowlegs
wading on the sand at the pond near the clubhouse, and Peter was
videoing it when the Merlin took a shot at it as well. The yellowlegs
flew away calling loud enough to hurt your ears. It seemed to be at
least twice the size of the Merlin. Peter's video shows the bird
flushing, but the Merlin was just out of frame. Pity, it was quite a
rush, We headed back to the lighthouse woods to look for woodpeckers
again, and after two hours of searching, I heard crows calling in the
densest part of the tract. Steve Millard, it was right after we parted
ways. Always on the lookout for owls, I investigated. I heard a soft
tapping and after ten minutes of searching, identified a male Three-toed
feeding on the underside of white spruce branches about 9 meters up. I
called Peter on the radio and told him to find me by following the crow
calls. We both got clear views of the male before it flushed, yet no
video, then we spent another half hour trying to reacquire the bird, to
no avail. The strip of pines that encircles the peninsula of Two Harbors
includes the conifers  over by the Harborview Apartments and the park,
near the mountain Ash Trees; perhaps these are where these birds may be
traveling to? We did not refind the birds, but if they are staying in
the area, these might be where they are.=20
I only had brief glimpses of the Three-toeds, so my observations are
anecdotal, but I wanted to offer them up for others to benchmark
against. The Black-blackeds I saw were on the tree trunks of Spruces,
one foraged form 2 meters to 5 meters, the other was at 5 meters high.
The trees they were in showed no blighted foliage or peeled bark. The
Three-toeds were at higher level foraging in Spruces, along lateral
branches, feeding on the underside of the branch. Both the Black-backeds
and three-toes were not loudly pecking, perhaps the wood is punky and
soft, or perhaps they are just softly going about their business, but
these birds were not audible when I was 50 feet or more away, and we had
low winds all day. The Downies we heard in the area were far noisier
than these birds. The Black-backeds were not as active as the
Three-toeds. The Three toeds were aggressively feeding, with no
repetitive rhythm to their tapping, but the cadence was similar to the
clicking of Yellow Rails. No vocals were heard from any Woodpecker
except Downy and Hairy. The Three-toeds and Black-backeds were not going
from one tree to the one next to it; they left with swift and direct
flight, out of view and not to be refound by us.=20
I recommend standardize some of the reporting of these sightings.
Perhaps the following questions answered each time would help us all
figure out what the pattern of behavior is for these birds. Please enter
them into the MOU seasonal reports data base and include them in your
posts.
1. What was its exact location (GPS or Delorme coordinates)?
2. What time and date did you sight his bird?
3. What were the weather and wind conditions?
4. What is its gender?
5. What type of tree is it in?
6. What is the apparent health of the tree?
7. What part of the tree is it feeding on?
a. Trunk
b. Lateral Branches
c. Height in meters of bird's foraging
8. Is the bird excavating or scaling bark?
9. Are there any vocalizations
10. How did you detect the bird?
a. Seen Flying
b. Heard
c. Another person found it
11. Did it interact with any other animals or birds?
12. How long did you observe it?

Mark Alt
Brooklyn Center, MN