Field journal

Acorn woodpecker granary in an old oak

San Domingo

  • The deeply furrowed gray bark of a large oak trunk, studded with dozens of acorns pressed into small holes, with bare branches, blue sky and a green meadow at the left edge.

    Acorns wedged into the bark of a large oak, the store of acorn woodpeckers.

  • A weathered, broken dead limb riddled with round drilled holes, a few still holding acorns, lying over green grass in bright sun.

    Drilled holes in a dead limb nearby, some still holding acorns.

On March 1 we found a large oak at the edge of a meadow at San Domingo Arbory with its bark studded with acorns, each pressed into its own small hole. A granary like this is the work of acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus), which drill the holes and fill them with acorns as a food store. A broken dead limb nearby was riddled with the same drilled holes, a few still holding acorns.

Old oaks and dead wood like these are part of the mixed forest and meadow edges we look after at San Domingo.

Theme Monitoring biodiversity

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