Special to The Record | USA TODAY NETWORK - NEW JERSEY

  Last month, I pulled off a woodpecker quintet. I saw five species of woodpeckers from my window in less than half an hour. They were, from smallest to largest:  downy, hairy, red-bellied, flicker and pileated.

   They’re in that same order when it comes to calls, from quietest to loudest, with the pileated and its maniacal laugh taking top prize. 

   I can’t say that any of the five was a surprise, since all but the pileated visit my feeders frequently. The others eat the seed mix if they are hungry enough, but they prefer to eat bite-sized chunks of suet that are sold under a variety of names.

   The downy and the hairy look very much alike, but the hairy is much bigger. If you see one and you’re not sure which it is, chances are it’s a downy. If it were a hairy, you’d know it.

   Red-bellied woodpeckers are what a lot of people call red-headed woodpeckers because they have more red on their heads than on their bellies. One has been performing a drum solo on my home’s aluminum siding around 6:30 a.m. the past week or so. It’s not winning any popularity contests at Chez Wright.

   Flickers, with their black bibs, elegant yellow under-wings and white tail patches have been busy raising young by my house. The male even roosted in one of my nest boxes for a week. (Trivia question: How can you tell a male flicker from a female? He’s the one with a red mustache. No joke.) 

   Pileateds are huge, with a Woody Woodpecker call and a big flash of white on their wings when they fly.  Contrary to what some high-falutin birders may say, you can pronounce “pileated” any way you choose. The pileated couldn’t care less. 

   North Jersey is home to two other woodpecker species. I once saw two yellow-bellied sapsuckers from my window at the same in early spring. The other guy, the red-headed woodpecker, I’ve always had to travel to see. Traditionally, the best places have been the Ridgewood Duck Pond and the Oradell Waterworks.

   I’ve been reading so much recently about how bird species are in sharp decline globally because of habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and other factors that I got to wondering: Was I just lucky to see five in my backyard? How are these woodpeckers doing in our neck of the woods?

   Downies are common, and their population has been stable for the past half-century. Hairy, red-bellied and pileated woodpeckers are common, and their populations have increased over the past half-century. Flickers are still common, but their population has decreased by an estimated 47 percent from 1966 to 2019. 

    Long about now is a great time of year to see and hear woodpeckers in North Jersey. Get going! 

The Bird Watcher column appears every other Thursday. Jim’s next book, "The Screech Owl Companion," will be published by Timber Press. Email Jim at [email protected].

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Jim Wright

My next book is "The Screech Owl Companion" www.screechowl.net/

My nature blog is www.celeryfarm.net

This northern flicker has been hanging out in my yard of late. Quickie quiz: Is it a male or a female? Read this column to find out. Photo by Jim Wright.

My latest column for The Record is all about our local woodpeckers. One of the five is a suspect in the knocking on my siding for five minutes every morning.

By Jim Wright

Special to The Record | USA TODAY NETWORK - NEW JERSEY

  Last month, I pulled off a woodpecker quintet. I saw five species of woodpeckers from my window in less than half an hour. They were, from smallest to largest:  downy, hairy, red-bellied, flicker and pileated.

   They’re in that same order when it comes to calls, from quietest to loudest, with the pileated and its maniacal laugh taking top prize. 

   I can’t say that any of the five was a surprise, since all but the pileated visit my feeders frequently. The others eat the seed mix if they are hungry enough, but they prefer to eat bite-sized chunks of suet that are sold under a variety of names.

   The downy and the hairy look very much alike, but the hairy is much bigger. If you see one and you’re not sure which it is, chances are it’s a downy. If it were a hairy, you’d know it.

   Red-bellied woodpeckers are what a lot of people call red-headed woodpeckers because they have more red on their heads than on their bellies. One has been performing a drum solo on my home’s aluminum siding around 6:30 a.m. the past week or so. It’s not winning any popularity contests at Chez Wright.

   Flickers, with their black bibs, elegant yellow under-wings and white tail patches have been busy raising young by my house. The male even roosted in one of my nest boxes for a week. (Trivia question: How can you tell a male flicker from a female? He’s the one with a red mustache. No joke.) 

   Pileateds are huge, with a Woody Woodpecker call and a big flash of white on their wings when they fly.  Contrary to what some high-falutin birders may say, you can pronounce “pileated” any way you choose. The pileated couldn’t care less. 

   North Jersey is home to two other woodpecker species. I once saw two yellow-bellied sapsuckers from my window at the same in early spring. The other guy, the red-headed woodpecker, I’ve always had to travel to see. Traditionally, the best places have been the Ridgewood Duck Pond and the Oradell Waterworks.

   I’ve been reading so much recently about how bird species are in sharp decline globally because of habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and other factors that I got to wondering: Was I just lucky to see five in my backyard? How are these woodpeckers doing in our neck of the woods?

   Downies are common, and their population has been stable for the past half-century. Hairy, red-bellied and pileated woodpeckers are common, and their populations have increased over the past half-century. Flickers are still common, but their population has decreased by an estimated 47 percent from 1966 to 2019. 

    Long about now is a great time of year to see and hear woodpeckers in North Jersey. Get going! 

The Bird Watcher column appears every other Thursday. Jim’s next book, "The Screech Owl Companion," will be published by Timber Press. Email Jim at [email protected].