Howdy folks! Last we talked, we were heading out to Dauphin Island for the Spring migration. Big thanks to Brad for manning the Intrigued Headquarters while we hopped through base camps during the first leg of our adventure. You will be hearing more from Brad as we head “back” to Dauphin. Those that do not fear the blue “wedge piece” might think we overshot as are current site is just outside Gainesville, Florida. Reminiscent of Jeep’s popular spare tire cover – “Not all who wander are lost”. Definitely not lost, we are here for a dog agility event and tomorrow we’ll start heading back through the panhandle, quick airport stop to pick up Ron and then make our way to Dauphin. Have I mentioned lately how great retirement is ha. That isn’t to say there hasn’t been a good bit of birding along the way… understatement – there has actually been a LOT of birding to the point of already being completely exhausted. Birded Kentucky, birded Alabama, birded Georgia and for our first time ever, birded northern Florida. In addition to a world class farmer’s tan, I’ve given an adrenaline shot right to the heart of the Average Year efforts (link here – note, not current). The official count now sits at 260 after adding 20 checks since are departure – several of them lifers. Feeling a lot more confident now being a mere 40 species from the 300 goal and still haven’t reached Dauphin.
I finally have a few hours to relax while waiting for the dogs to take their runs. Being on the road and a number of their energy calming walks clipped thanks to an outrageous number of Gators in this state, this event might turn out to be a clown show.
Hit the jump to read more about our funny looking specimen.
Just seems appropriate to feature the “clown” of the birding world for this road feature. In a previous post, I touched upon our successful trip to Las Vegas. Clarify, the casino tables could have treated us better, but the birding was excellent. I promised B. across the pond (link here) I would do my best to get some of those finds featured prior to 2026 (I have a bit of a backlog problem). True to word, you are looking at one of those gems from the Vegas trip – so fresh, the development chemicals are still dripping off the images.
For those that live in or have visited the west coast, areas along the Arizona/New Mexico border or a smidge in southwest Texas you may immediately recognize this oddity as an Acorn Woodpecker. I first learned about this Woodpecker while researching the White-Headed variety for our 2019 Lake Tahoe trip (link here). Remember thinking to myself how nice it would be if one of these were to wander over there during out trip.
I also recall immediately thinking how much the post-encounter therapy sessions would cost seeing how much it looked like a #$%%!$%!!#$@$ clown. Before you start tossing around the coulrophobia label, let it be known there is nothing IRRATIONAL about my hatred of clowns. Imagine my surprise while looking at the eBird reports from Spring Mountain Ranch State Park (just west of Las Vegas) and noticing reports of this clown.
Linda: “Honey, are you okay?”
Me: “No”
Linda: “Why are you on the ground curled up in the fetal position?”
Me: “It is time for us to do what we have been doing and that time is every day”
Linda: “I’ll get the doctor, you are talking idiot gibberish”
Me: {shakily points to eBird report}
Linda; “Oh, a clown, {puts down phone”} got it”
A splash of cold water to the face and a few shots of bourbon later, I was back to my normal self. Hard to pass up a close rarity, especially when trying to make up for missing the mark on the previous Average Year endeavor (link here). I needed to suck it up, face my rational fears and go after the floppy shoe wearing pecker.
Having no clue as to where this abomination was hanging out, we started in the tree lined picnic area right out from the parking lot. No success there so headed up to the visitor center in hopes of getting some insights. Along the way, a ranger stopped his truck and asked us how the day was going. “Good, but it would be even better if we could spot the Acorn Woodpecker – any chance you happen to know what area it might be found?” “Your best chance is in the ash grove” while pointing back the way he came. Now we had some badly needed optimism. Nothing found in the cluster of trees at the trailhead leading to a consultation with the map. Hmmm, there was a trail that led down to another grove on the opposite side of a deep ravine with a small stream – later we realized that was the origin of the park’s name. Problem was that it was a fairly long out and back hike and it was getting late in the day. Linda mentioned “rarity” which sealed the deal.
We made our way down the trail (more like a ‘U’ as it ended up just on the other side of the ravine). STILL NO LUCK. Now this clown was really pissing me off. Optimism now waning … eh, I’d say outright crushed by now.. we began our trek back. 2/3rds of the way back Linda proclaims “You are not going to want to hear this”. Ominous words that put a chill up the spine as that is NEVER followed by anything good. “Found a post from a local birding group that says the clown is a recurring bird.. dramatic pause… in the picnic area. WTF, we just wasted 2 hours on bad advice. It was late afternoon by then – did a quick run around the picnic area and called off the search.
Obvious by the fact you are seeing images of the Acorn Woodpecker, you know we went back and this time specifically focused on the picnic area. Could have done without the 70mph gusting winds rocketing out of the mountains. Talk about a surreal moment, I walked maybe 20 feet into the picnic area, looked up and immediately snapped the first shot in this post. Apparently, all my gambling luck was being saved up for that moment – the settings ended up being dead on. Got a quick burst in before it took off. Linda and I managed to find it a couple more times and was able to add a few more shots – nothing really any better than that first take. Mission accomplished, clown-face was in the tin.
Gong long, need to get you some interesting facts about this woodpecker. Although poor execution, decided to leave the above shot in so you could see how the white markings go across the forehead and pretty much outlines the black bullseye surrounding the bill. Deep black cap with a red crown rounds out the rest of the head markings.. another poor shot next just to give a visual of the backside of the head.
Why the name Acorn and not Bozo Woodpecker. My guess is the naming board thought that “Clown that Shoves Acorns into Trees” Woodpecker felt too long. Unfortunately, they picked the behavior portion rather than the field marking for the official name. Find them sitting in a tree instead of stashing acorns in the tree – well it may come down to an Internet image search. According to Cornell, these woodpeckers have been known to produce trees or “granaries” consisting of up to 50,000 drilled holes all expertly stuffed with an acorn. Yikes, let’s hope none of these clowns (or any other clown for that matter) show up in our woods.
Gotta go – will catch up with you further down the road. Oh, and apologies for the continued delay in getting to all your comments (and your posts) – I appreciate them and promise I’ll respond as soon as I can.
Wildlife Intrigued 
See? All who wander are not lost and all clowns aren’t bad.
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WRONG….ALL CLOWNS are EVIL – no debate, no questions, no uncertainty, absolute certainty. Haven’t you seen the ones that infest our woods come September!?!
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Yes, those I agree are evil. I’ve another story on clowns next time we can chat in person.
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Never seen one of those dudes up in these parts. It is a weird looking woodpecker. Great shots of it.
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Figured you would have a better chance of getting a wanderer there than say Vegas. Definitely fits the weird mode and pretty sure the other Woodpeckers point and giggle whenever one comes into view. Guessing these clowns get a payback during the winter months when the acorns start running short and those bully birds have to hang their heads and pay the outrageous fee to get some of those pre-stashed acorns. Visualize them decked out in pin-striped suites, shades, gold chains, surrounded by Tommy gun thugs as they count their stash.
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Very nice B, lovely and fresh not 10 years old!
That is a cute woodpecker (not scary at all) seen them on nature progs on tv, amazing behaviour!
Good luck on the island. Gainsville is quite well know for other activities if you like loud motorsport 😉
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Thank you B. thought you mighty appreciate some fresh shots. I have to differ merely based on association principle … they look like clowns, all clowns are evil, therefore all Acorn Woodpeckers are evil. Shocking enough, this same principle applies to many of our politicians. The minute I read your last line everything clicked – while driving around I kept seeing NHRA flags outside various homes/estates etc. Thought that was an odd flag to be that common and then you prompted me to do a little digging – sure enough, a hotbed of drag racing – small world. Looks like we just missed the Gatornationals – that would have been cool to see. Based on the excellent birding suspect we will be back and will be sure and check the race schedule. Take care…and yes, all clowns are evil.
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The only evil clown I know lives under yellow arches! 🤡
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Ha, I have to be drugged or hit over the head (or both) to go anywhere near Ronald – creepy as hell.
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I live among oak woodlands in No. Calif. and we have acorn woodpeckers everywhere. And I never ever tire of seeing them. They’re vocal, gregarious, and so stunningly beautiful. Really nice photos here, Brian, and funny narrative. Your tenacity paid off.
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Thank you Jet, the conditions were not exactly ideal, but very pleased on how the clicks came out. Can’t wait to get back there …well, probably have to move further west to get another shot at them as this specimen was a bit off course. I found a few YouTube videos that showed their stash behavior – very intriguing. I would also like to hear their calls in person. Clowny here was keeping a pretty quite persona likely due to the foreign location. I got a few stern looks from Linda when I mentioned we needed to go back and try again (in the cold), but in the end she decided it was such a pretty bird it was worth it. As you live near them, I would have to guess they are bit destructive to the trees knowing what our Pileated’s can do and they are not nearly as active as these Acorn Woodpeckers seem to be. Always a joy when I see your visit, take care.
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If you ever get to the Bay Area, Brian, let me know and I’ll take you to some Acorn Woodpecker colonies. The woodpeckers aren’t particularly destructive to the trees because they mostly make their granaries in dead trees. You might be interested in the photos in this post, it has good close-ups of a granary. Cheers, my friend. Link: https://jeteliot.wordpress.com/2022/09/16/california-oaks-and-acorns/
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Will do Jet, appreciate the offer! Didn’t occur to me they might choose dead trees – big ‘ol slap to the forehead ha. Checked out the post and fascinated by the acorn stashing process – like a grocery store for birds! Appreciate you stopping in, have a great rest of your week.
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Kudos on your perseverance in finding the Acorn Woodpecker despite a bit of clowning around. Woodpeckers are fascinating no matter what costume they might be wearing.
Welcome to our Sunshine State! (A clown-free peninsula.)
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Thank you Wally – seeing it in person didn’t disappoint – ironically the tree we found it in first was an acorn producing tree, but didn’t get to witness any stashing. I must say, Florida has been absolutely fabulous. We stayed north on this trip (we changed our original plans to make it to Fort Myers due to the damage they experienced there) and had a great time checking out your state parks and wildlife refuges. Don’t want to give the spoils away too soon, but we managed to see our first Snail Kites and the local legend you are likely familiar with .. Pinky. Was standing next to a couple from Toronto Canada that had come down just to see that celebrity. Incredibly ironic as we knew nothing about the bird before we got there and just chose it because it looked like a good spot. Beyond some quick conditioning to the heat we’ve enjoyed every minute. Couple more days here until we head back across the Panhandle to Dauphin. A slight correction on your clown-free claim – Brad relished in the moment when he informed us this was going on – https://www.npr.org/2023/03/23/1165566290/clowns-convention-orlando-florida Quickly informed Linda we were not to go anywhere near there ha. Appreciate you dropping in Wally, what a fine state you have here.
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Happy to have you. Good birding.
(A slight correction to your slight correction. We refer to that group as “tourists”.)
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Okay, I just startled Linda when I burst out laughing at your slight correction – too funny!
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Blogging can wait for finds like this! Great pursuit, great spotting, and great images. Thanks even for including the “less than stellar” photos, I enjoy seeing as much of the bird “in 3D” as possible. I wonder if one could find seedling oaks arrayed in rows, germinated from a fallen granary tree.
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Thank Sam – this one took some effort, but kudos to Linda for pushing me to keep going. I do like to give a full perspective, especially when it comes to species I’ve never seen before – even if it costs me some photographer cred haha. Excellent point regarding the granary germination – I think that is a very plausible hypothesis. Will have to ask people with more experience with these creatures – I should probably ask Jet (below) to see if she can confirm that outcome. Appreciate you coming by Sam – I suppose being uber-busy when it comes to a birding trip is a good thing!
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Forgot to mention there is a nice segment on acorn woodpeckers on the PBS show Nature. Check out Woodpeckers: The Hole Story.
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Will check it out, thanks.
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Watch those gators. No interest in you, but dogs…
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Ha, unbelievable number of Gators here – we are used to the Texas numbers which are pretty healthy, but they have nothing on Florida, that’s for sure. I’ve been told they have no issues with respectful humans, but a couple of times on this trip (so far), I’ve been met with a large specimen holding a tin cup with the words “Pay Toll” on it at strategic places on the trail – without wallet had to turn back and take a detour – oh, and this is the first time we have ever heard their bellowing – wow, is that amazing. At first we were disappointed a number of the places we visited had a no dog policy – then we figured out why and suddenly the kids were okay with it hehehe. Thanks for stopping by Ted – fine state you got here.
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Nothing like being out in a swamp at night, and they start to ‘talk’. As for blocking a trail, happens all the time. Most we can just go by, maybe step over a tail. But never have a dog close… have a good one, Ted
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Was talking to a local and they told me the exact same thing – they will jump the banks for a tasty poodle apparently – now that would be a horrific experience. Linda decided she would just stay with the kids while I patrolled the higher gator occupancy places. I am still too hesitant to get close to them (no tail jumping here ha), so they get a wide berth from me — thankfully the ultra training allows me to go “miles” out of the way to avoid them hehehe. Thanks for the info Ted.
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Pretty cool!
Enjoy your birding and stay clear of the bad weather.
Best wishes with the doggy trials too.
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Been pretty lucky with the weather. A bit nippy on our way out, but up until yesterday it has been sunny .. warm, but sunny so no complaints. Rain came back in yesterday and will likely carry through a bit into the Dauphin leg – fingers crossed the birds still make it across the Gulf. The doggy trail didn’t go so well – think mommy and doggy were not prepared for running in the 94 degree heat – shockingly no shade on the courses at all. Ruger did get to meet one of his cousins while there so that was fun – that owner saw Ruger when we first got there and immediately named his NY breeder he came from “I always recognize that line!” He has the pedigree, we now just need to get his terrible-twos head on right ha. Thanks for dropping by CJ, always appreciate it. Lots of new birds on this trip and excited about introducing everyone to them.
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This is all awesome to hear. 🤣😂 When should we plan these new bird sightings in our “read” calendars? 2066?🤣🤣😂😂 Safe travels to your entire family!
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Ha, I promised B. in the UK I would try to get to images quicker than usual ….so, maybe with some warpspeed processing I could have them ready by hmmmm… 2030 .. don’t hold me to it though, that is already pushing my limits ha. So far travels has been good, although today was our first good soaking – fingers crossed this storm will cause a fallout here on Dauphin… stay tuned.
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Wonderful woodpecker and woodpecker photographs! Haven’t seen an Acorn in many years…
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Thank you John. As mentioned, this was my first encounter and it was a joy to experience. Doubt this one will hang around too long in Vegas (likely no mate opportunities), but definitely worth a future trip to California or the NM/AZ border to see one again – really want to see one of those granaries as well. Appreciate you taking the time to drop in and join the conversation!
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I never saw this woodpecker before…Very colorful! As you describe his behavior of drilling acorn holes in trees, I think I am not anxious for this woodpecker to move to Florida. I’ll just live with the alligators. 🙂
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Ha, I was thinking the same thing when I found out about the granaries – nice to enjoy …from AFAR. Just got back from Florida (Gainesville area and then back across the panhandle). I can now without an ounce of hesitation confirm Florida has a lot of Gators… I mean a LOT. Visited Sweetwater while down there and pretty sure there was at least a 2:1 ratio of those creatures to every visitor. Linda and I were also thrilled to hear them “bellow” for the first time – holy cow is that loud. We initially thought someone was trying to start a boat engine, made it to the source of the sound and no boat. Maybe a little Woodpecker isn’t that bad after all ha. Appreciate you dropping in Cheryl.
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