BIRDS OF NANTUCKET
CHECKERBOARD BIRDS
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw
Ialways think 'checkerboard' when I see their black-and-white-checked appearance, but I suppose 'houndstooth' might also work okay. If you have a suet feeder you probably are hosting these little charmers in your yard.

Downy Woodpecker

This week's bird is a woodpecker, actually the most common on Nantucket, but it was not always thus. Griscom and Folger called it just a 'vagrant' in their 1948 book and the early Christmas Bird Count data supports this - never more than three birds reported until 1970, and many years none at all were reported. But since 1979 we've found them every year with a high count of 90 in 2005.

We're talking about Downy Woodpeckers, America's smallest woodpecker - just over six inches from beak to tail - scarcely larger than a sparrow. But these things are deceiving. Sparrows don't velcro themselves to the side of trees. Woodpeckers look larger than they are, unlike those objects in your car's rear-view mirror.

The cartoon character Woody Woodpecker is the one older folks remember. He had that outrageous laugh and a bright red head with a crest. He was probably patterned after the Pileated Woodpecker, a huge, crow-sized bird with a head like Woody's. We don't see those here but most woodpeckers show at least some red on their heads, at least the males do.

A real treat is to see an adult Red-headed Woodpecker. Both sexes of that species show a completely red head, front to back from the neck up. The red knocks your eye right out! That's a pretty rare bird here. Almost as red is the Red-bellied Woodpecker, whose red starts at the back of the neck and goes up over the top of the head to the forehead, stopping at the beak.

Male Downies show one red checker square on the back of their head. Otherwise they are identical to Mrs. Downy, white tummy and back, with a sharply defined black and white pattern elsewhere.

There is a larger version of the Downy, known strangely enough as the Hairy. Roger Tory Peterson tells us the Hairy is half again as big as a Downy, but size is tough to tell unless you can get them to sit next to a ruler. Most Hairies reported on our island turn out to be Downies. It's wonderful to see them side-by-side but you are seldom so lucky.

I like to use the call note to tell them apart. The Downy's is a very dry 'pik,' and the Hairy's note is a moist 'peenk.' Also the Downy's bill is short, delicate and slightly up-turned. The Hairy's is as long as his head, and robust. If the outer tail is pure white, it is a Hairy. Black bars indicate a Downy.

Now I did tell a little fib a while back, saying the Downy was our most common woodpecker. Actually that distinction goes to the Northern Flicker. But they are so unwoodpecker-like, I think you'll forgive me. First of all, flickers are mainly brown, not black and white like most woodpeckers. Second they love to hop around on the ground, more like robins. They've been recorded on every one of our Christmas Bird Counts, several times numbering more than 200!

But this is the time of year that Downies start to get in your face. Now is when they pair off and think about raising little Downies. Since they may live for ten years and don't migrate, Mrs. Downy may still be nearby. Like most woodpeckers they are hole nesters. They have the tools and persistence to actually excavate a nesting hole in the side of a tree. The entrance hole is an inch and a quarter across and the cavity, five-to-ten inches deep. It must then be defended from other birds that also nest in cavities but can't make their own.

You can get excellent directions on how to build a suitable box for Downy Woodpeckers at http://www.50birds.com/MPb040907114.htm. You might also get chickadees or nuthatches in a box

like this. Don't make your entry hole larger than

one and one half inches or you may find starlings in there instead of your desired tenants.

I discussed with Edith Andrews why there are so many more Downies on Nantucket now than before 1970. She feels the main reason is the increase of forest growth on our island. It sure is true in Monomoy. When I was growing up here in the '50s, the wind could sweep completely unimpeded across from the harbor. Now we are surrounded by 25-foot tall pine trees. Between the pines and the scrub oaks, our moors are vanishing. Bad for the view, but

great for Downy Woodpeckers! I

George C. West creates illustrations for these articles.

If you enjoy 'social' birding, join the Nantucket Bird Club at 8 a.m. Sundays in front of Nantucket High School for a two to three hour birding trip. Call 228-1693 for more information.To hear about rare birds, or to leave a bird report call the Massachusetts Audubon hot line at 1-781-259- 8805. Ask Ken a question at: kenandcindy1@comcast. net.