Tag: Flagstaff

One of my neighborhood walks takes me through a forest of ponderosa pine and scrubby gambel oaks on the rim of Switzer Canyon. There are two old ponderosa snags, both about 80 feet tall (25 meters). The dead trees are pierced with thousands of small holes, and each hole is filled with an acorn, placed there by an industrious acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). I watched about a dozen birds today managing their acorn inventories, building a cache to get them through the cold months ahead. 

One of my neighborhood walks takes me through a forest of ponderosa pine and scrubby gambel oaks on the rim of Switzer Canyon. There are two old ponderosa snags, both about 80 feet tall (25 meters). The dead trees are pierced with thousands of small holes, and each hole is filled with an acorn, placed there by an industrious acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). I watched about a dozen birds today managing their acorn inventories, building a cache to get them through the cold months ahead.