In Search of the White Headed Woodpecker

This post refers to June 16, 2015

White Headed Woodpecker Habitat

Box of Baby Birds

When we read that the Idlewild Campround in Burns, Oregon is the place to go to see the rare White Headed Woodpecker, we knew we'd be going. Or rather stopping, Burns was already on our route from Boston to Ashland, Oregon, we just hadn't planned to stop there. Nor are we 'birders' in the sense that we'd go anywhere and everywhere to see particular birds it just that woodpeckers are special.

Back in Beverly having the woodpeckers come to the feeder was always an event. We'd had three different types, the Downy, the Hairy (both whom look very similar) and the Red Bellied (whom I called 'the Big Guy'). When we were camping at Sleeping Bear Dunes, or rather when we were repacking the van at Sleeping Bear Dunes Campground we'd been startled by the loud drilling of another woodpecker. Even bigger that the Red Bellied, this woodpecker was also redder. I tried to get a photo but wasn't very successful, and I'm now sure what kind he even was. Still it was cool to see him.

The White Headed Woodpecker is smaller that all four of the previous mentioned birds. The males also have a small red spot on their head, but irregardless, on Monday, June 16th, we pulled into the Idlewild Campground. Having just driven four hours from our night in Boise, Idaho through some very dry, but hilly county.  We restocked our food supply in Burns, a dry and flat town, we'd turned North up RT 395 into the Malheur National Forest. Climbing up through Divine Canyon we quickly left the plain and entered a high desert Ponderosa Pine Forest. Nearing 5000ft we took the turn into the campground and picked a quiet spot on the outer ring. (Actually any spot would have been quiet as we were the only campers there.) 

3:00 pm on an 80 degree day probably isn't prime bird watching time but we wanted to go for a hike so we set off on the Idlewild Loop Trail through the giant pine forest. The White Headed Woodpecker prefers the ponderosa pine for its habitat, and that's about the only tree up here. However, these are all very healthy, some impressively so, not many are dead and obvious homes for the bugs woodpeckers

Tonight, when it cools down to 50 degrees, or maybe tomorrow morning before the temperature warms up we'll take a little walk again. Maybe this time we'll see our woodpecker.

prefer. Needless to say, we didn't see or hear any woodpeckers. We did see an amazing forest, a deer, a Stellar Blue Jay, some crows, and in a box that was supposed to contain a trail map, a nest of some type of baby birds.