woodpecker – West Valley Naturalists

Nesting in The West Valley Part One

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Pat Jaquith

by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Editor’s Note: The smaller images on this page may be enlarged by clicking on them.

Beautiful West Valley is the chosen home of many species of birds thanks to the varied agricultural uses, ponds and wetlands, and forested areas. Locating an appropriate homesite and constructing a new nest every year must be a daunting task for animals with a beak and two wings as principal tools! Observing birds making nests and raising their families every spring is a delightful time of discovery for me. In the following pages, I will share some of the avian nesting activities I have been fortunate to observe in our area.

CAVITY NESTERS

Mountain Chickadee nest work in Birch tree Old Tally Lake Rd 4.10.24 — 5.10.19

4.24.24

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Three-Toed Woodpeckers at Work in West Valley

Posted on January 7, 2024 by Pat Jaquith

by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

American three-toed Woodpecker P.dorsalis Black-backed Woodpecker P.arcticus

The above woodpeckers have been seen in the West Valley with increasing frequency in the last few years. To learn more about these unusual birds and why they are here, read on.

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Pileated vs Ponderosa

Posted on March 2, 2023 by skip

by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Male pileated woodpecker. The red crest on males extends all the way to the bill, and you can see a red mustache under the eyes.

Pileated woodpeckers are the largest North American woodpeckers, and we’re fortunate to be able to see (and hear) them year ’round here in the valley.

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Early Spring

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Pat Jaquith

by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Winter is melting into summer. Every day is a surprise: will the snow retreat today? or will we experience a fall-back into freezing temperatures and even get some snow? When will we see some green in the in the cold, black soil of fields that were sown last fall? When will we see the first-of-the-year (FOY) Sandhill Crane? Who can guess correctly the day of ice-out on the potholes? How many geese, ducks, swans fit in the one open pool? Are those trees really starting to blossom? Will I be able to leave that heavy coat home? Read further for some of my FOY’s!

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Pileated Woodpecker Take 2

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Pat Jaquith

by Pat Jaquith
pat@westvalleynaturalists.org

Skip’s journal post about Pileated Woodpeckers inspired me to add a few more images and some of my observations of these unforgettable birds that the American Birding Association has named the 2021 Bird of the Year.

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Pileated Woodpecker

Posted on January 7, 2021 by skip

by Skip Via
skip@westvalleynaturalists.org

Pileated woodpeckers are the largest woodpeckers in North America. (The ivory-billed woodpecker of the southeastern US swamps and marshes is larger, but it is considered “definitely or probably” extinct.) While pileated woodpeckers are not exactly rare in the valley–I’ve encountered them year ’round in the Happy Valley State Trust Lands and the Pig Farm State Trust Lands (see Locations)–they are infrequent visitors to areas of the valley with fewer trees and more houses. That’s why it’s such a rare treat to see one in the back yard.

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