It’s Here!

Loess Hills Audubon is again partnering with Council Oak Coffee Supply for a certified bird-friendly limited edition coffee roast. Pre-order forms will be available at the October 3rd general meeting.

For a $20 donation to Loess Hills Audubon, you will receive a12-ounce bag of either whole bean or ground Tanager Drip: A Migratory Trip limited edition coffee.

This limited edition roast is only available through Loess Hills Audubon. Help support local and migratory birds and their habitats, your chapter and our activities with this fund-raising partnership with Council Oak Coffee Supply.

BIRD OF THE MONTH - Hairy Woodpecker

The larger of two look-alike woodpeckers (Hairy versus Downy). The Hairy wields a much longer bill than the Downy. The bill is nearly the same length as the head.

Hairy Woodpeckers typically hitch up tree trunks or along large branches, leaning back against their stiff tail feathers and springing upward with both feet at once. Unlike Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers never feed on weed stalks, cattails, or reeds. The Downy Woodpecker uses smaller branches while the Hairy Woodpecker tends to spend more time on trunks.

Hairy Woodpeckers have a somewhat soldierly look, with their erect, straight-backed posture on tree trunks and their cleanly striped heads.

More than 75% of the Hairy Woodpecker’s diet is made up of insects, particularly the larvae of wood-boring beetles and bark beetles, ants, and moth pupae in their cocoons. To a lesser extent they also eat bees, wasps, caterpillars, spiders, and millipedes.

The most common call of the Hairy Woodpecker is a short, sharp peek note very similar to Downy Woodpeckers, but slightly lower pitched and often sounding more emphatic. Hairy Woodpeckers also make a rattle or whinny. This call is also similar to the Downy Woodpecker but does not descend in pitch at the end.