July 2020 • Nebraskaland 47
omnivorous of woodpeckers, with a diet that changes
throughout the year. It is one of four woodpeckers known to
store food and the only one known to cover stored food with
wood or bark. It often packs insects in crevices, sometimes
alive, to be eaten later.
Limiting use of insecticides and leaving dead trees
standing are among the best ways to help the species. As
with other woodpeckers, suet is the best attractant for
feeding stations. Nut-bearing trees attract them in winter,
but most Nebraskans are not apt to see the species then.
The red-headed woodpecker's breeding range extends
throughout Nebraska, but only the southeastern corner of
the state is identified as wintering range. Jorgensen said
Indian Cave State Park in the state's southeastern corner
provides birdwatchers the best bet for seeing one on public
land in colder months, but "abundance that time of year is
variable and linked to the supply of acorns."
Many cavity-nesting birds and mammals that do not create
their own holes benefit from past work of the woodpeckers.
As with many of those cavity-nesters, nonnative European
starlings have been detrimental to populations of red-headed
woodpeckers by stealing nest sites.
Yet, in addition to insects, there are members of the
woodland community who surely see the red-headed
woodpecker not for its beauty, but rather as a feared menace.
They are ferocious defenders of their territory and have a
reputation for terrorizing nests of other birds within it, going
as far as puncturing or ejecting eggs.
In early colonial America, when small cornfields
and orchards were interspersed among woodlands, the
woodpecker was viewed as an agricultural pest and a two-
pence bounty was paid for each red head. With today's large
fields and monoculture, damages are considered much less
and the bird has a more positive reputation.
The "flying checkerboard" may have a checkered history
and tough demeanor, but most surely agree that these birds
have a way of brightening our landscapes and certainly bring
a splash of color to roadsides and dead trees.
N
A juvenile red-headed woodpecker, with a head of brown,
packs an insect into a crevice of a fence post in early August.
Redheads are one of four woodpecker species known to
store food.
With its bold, bright plumage, the "fl ying checkerboard" is
considered a "spark bird" – one that sparks an interest in
nature.
