Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

The Nuttall’s woodpecker is a California endemic species; that means it only occurs in this state. It’s especially selective about habitat, too, and California’s oak woodlands are its home of choice. I’m lucky to have these woodpeckers as both regular “yard birds” and regular residents of the 20-acre property I steward in the Mayacamas Mountains nine miles to the north.

Adult males of this predominantly black and white bird have a shock of scarlet on their crowns. Because of their size and coloration, Nuttall’s woodpeckers are often mistaken for the slightly smaller downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) or the slightly larger hairy woodpecker (Dryobates villosus). The easiest way to distinguish the Nuttall’s from the other two species is to look at their backs. If the black-and-white, horizontal barring extends all the way up the center of the woodpecker’s back, it’s a Nuttall’s. If the barring is broken by an obvious, vertical white bar that extend almost all the way down the spine, it’s a downy or hairy.

I wondered just how much Nuttall’s woodpeckers actually depend on oaks. Evidently, researchers wondered the same thing. Male Nuttall’s woodpeckers do about 39% of their foraging in coast live oaks (Quercus agrifolia), ~27% in valley oaks (Quercus lobata), ~13% in blue oaks (Quercus douglasii), and the remaining ~21% in various other tree species. Female Nuttall’s woodpeckers did about 48% of their foraging in coast live oaks, ~23% in valley oaks, ~14% in blue oaks, and the remaining ~15% in other tree species. In other words, males did 79% of their foraging in oak species and females did 85%. That’s pretty dang dependent! What are they eating in those oaks? Researchers believe a Nuttall’s woodpecker diet is about 80% beetles, ants, caterpillars, termites, spiders, millipedes, and other invertebrates. They will also eat seeds, and are especially fond of Pacific poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) seeds.

Apparently monogamous; individuals remain on their same territory year-round. As nesting time approaches, males excavate a nest cavity (females only sometimes help out). Curiously, a new cavity is excavated each year. The male and female split brooding duties about equally.

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.