The Downy Woodpecker
Habitat
Downies take home in the United States and southern Canada. They have been
recorded at elevations of up to 9,000 feet. The downies are not deep-forested
birds, preferring deciduous trees. Open woodlands, river groves, orchards,
swamps, farmland, and suburban backyards are all favorite haunts of the downy.
Downies will also nest in city parks. About the only place you won't find them
is deserts. The most attractive human dwelling sites are woodlands broken up by
logged patches in a waterside area. Downies also enjoy open shrubbery with
groves of young deciduous trees.
Call(s)
Like the hairy woodpecker, the downy beats a tattoo on a dry resonant
tree branch. This drumming is the downy's song, though they do make some vocal
noises. They have several single-syllable call notes which include tchick, an
aggressive social note; a tick and a tkhirrr, which are alarm notes. There is
also a location call, known as a "whinny", made up of a dozen or more tchicks
all strung together.
Scientific Names
The downy woodpecker's scientific name is Picoides pubescens. There
are also six particular downies with six particular scientific names all from
different regions of the United States and southern Canada which I have listed
below:
southern downy / Dryobates pubescens Gairdner's woodpecker / Gairdneri pubescens
Batchelder's woodpecker / Leucurus pubescens northern downy / Medianus pubescens
Nelson's downy / Nelsoni pubescens willow woodpecker / Turati pubescens
The downy woodpecker is sometimes reffered to as "little downy."
Behavior Towards Humans
The downy is unquestionably the friendliest woodpecker. A bird lover
in Wisconsin described downies at their feeding station: "The downies will back
down to the suet container on the basswood tree while I sit only a few feet away
on the patio. Even when I walk right up to them, most downies will not fly away,
but will simply scoot around the backside of the tree trunk and peek around to
see what I am doing. If I press them, they will hop up the backside of the tree
trunk and then fly to a higher branch.
Food
Besides being friendly, downy woodpeckers are our good friends for
another reason. Most of the insects they eat are considered destructive to man's
orchards and forest products. About 75% of their diet is made up of animal
matter gleaned from bark and crevices where insect larvae and eggs lie hidden.
While standing on that unique tripod of two legs and and a tail, downies hitch
up and down tree trunks in search of a whole laundry list of insect pests. With
their special chisel-like bills and horny, sticky tongues, downies are adept at
plucking out great numbers of beetle grubs, insect cocoons, or batches of insect
ImageText BoxImageOne of the biggest threats to the environment of Ontario is the Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar). The species itself is native to Europe and Asia. How this affects us is by weakening trees across Ontario and North America. The first time the gypsy moth was found in Ontario was 1969. The gypsy moth can be found in southern Canada (Ontario), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. It is known to weaken trees and the caterpillar form live in trees and during most outbreaks its caterpillar feces would fall from the trees to the ground or even on top of humans. The average Gypsy Caterpillar can grow 5-6 centimeters long. With five pairs of blue spots and six pairs of bright red dots on their back. The female moth are white and can fly on the other hand, the male moth are brown and can also fly. The female have a 5cm wing span but male have a 2.5cm wing span. The gypsy moth usually lives in open forests and other forests and take up at least 20% of the space. The Gypsy moth are about 4cm long, tan coloured and can be located on tree trunks, furniture, and buildings. (OFAH Invading Species Awareness Program, 2012)
...ow the tree “will churn down its dark boughs, smashing the house.” But the tree is so significant to their family that accepting the risk of injury is sensible.
In the poem “Woodchucks” by Maxine Kumin, the speaker is in her garden and is annoyed with some woodchucks that are eating and destroying the produce in the garden. The speaker in turn tries to remove the woodchucks by using humane gas to kill them and when that is unsuccessful, she resorts to more violent means. This poem uses the annoying woodchucks to signify the Jewish people during the Holocaust by the Nazi Party.
mother nature herself. They will never get pushed out of the way buy the rush
They are good swimmers but are not found much near water. The birds nest on the
After several miles of tromping through the thick, slimy mud, I reached the hill with the tree upon it. Panting, I raced towards the hill and begin to climb it. My foot slid on the slick ground, but I persevered. I reached the top of the hill and felt disappointed. Trees were supposed to be surrounded by other plants and teeming with wildlife. Not this tree. The mud I trudged through covered the hill, coating the tree’s roots. There were no other plants. In fact, as I looked around, I noticed tha...
people have phones with multiple lines in order to handle the influx of phone calls. They get
trapped in the house and it is also trying to get out. From my background knowledge, the
Other trees had grown jealous, for they must reach a certain height and then stop as their progress slows to a halt before they perish. However, not the Yew. Ever aging, the spirit of the Yew is wise beyond saplings and woodland creatures alike and so many would often seek their advice, taking refuge in their
below them. A few hours later, the moon ascends and they are very tired and wondering how
...the wood for movement, looking for the slightest movement that will indicate the presence of some animal, maybe a deer walking through the woods feeding, or maybe a squirrel on its never-ending hunt for food. At 8:45 I get up and walk to my brother; the cold weather has found its way into my body through my many layers of clothes. I walk ever so silently hoping to find a deer over the hill, or in some alders eating. I see nothing but when I get to my brother he tells me I pushed five deer right past him.
apes and move amongst the safety of the trees from one feeding site to the next.
Forensic entomology is the study of insects and arthropods and their relation to a criminal investigation. Forensic entomology can determine the postmortem interval (PMI) or how long since the descendants’ death, whether the body has been moved since expiring, and what injuries may have been sustained (Ryan, 2011). When decomposition begins, insects establish a colony to lay eggs on the remains; these eggs will hatch into larvae that will eat the human organs and tissues. Forensic entomologists can determine the specific insects present in the body and estimate how long a body has been left exposed by examining the stage of development of the fly larvae; however, these findings are not always plausible. The fly larvae look and act different at each stage of development. The time required for stage development is not only affected by environmental influences such as geographical location, climate, and weather conditions, but also by type of insect. The forensic entomologist must consider these conditions when estimating the postmortem interval. Knowledge of insects, their life cycles, and their habits make entomological evidence a priceless tool for an investigation. Forensic entomology has proved its significance in a number of cases; though circumstances such as weather, temperature, and time of year clearly affect the development of insect infestation, and the expert must keep these in the forefront of his/her mind (Innes, 2000).
the hills near by, but at the bottom of the slope into the pit the
On the second article,"Dig Deeper" it explains what arborists do we when a tree is about to