By Rick Baetsen The black-backed woodpecker, like that of a number of the other boreal forest bird species, is a bird that many birders would like to have the chance to observe and add to their species “life list”. It is often described as a rare bird, and as a whole, the bird is not very common in really good habitat locations. Due to its rareness, and again like that of other boreal forest bird species (like that of the gray jay, boreal chick-a-dee, and spruce grouse), it can be difficult to locate and seem almost elusive. If you are successful though, the black-backed woodpecker will often reward you with good viewing opportunities. With a careful and slow approach, birders can often observe boreal forest bird species at very close ranges, as the birds continue their normal activities. The black-backed woodpecker is a breeding resident of the coniferous forests. The majority of the range it occupies lies within Canada. In Canada, it can be found in suitable habitat areas in all territories and provinces, from the Yukon to Labrador. In the United States it is a resident of the New England States of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York. It is also found in the higher elevation areas of the Mountain States out West. Male Black-backed Woodpecker In the Great Lakes Region, it is found to be a resident of the northern areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. In Michigan, most observations and nesting records come from the Upper Peninsula, though a few observations have come from the jack pine forest areas of Grayling, Mio, and Luzerne, of the Lower Peninsula. The birds do utilize the conifer forests in Michigan, but the composition of the species of conifer trees that make up their habitat can vary. They can be observed and found breeding in jack pine forests or barrens, and in upland mixed forests of hemlock, pines and spruces, and as well in the mixed swamp conifer forests of black spruce, tamarack, and balsam firs. Personal observations have most often been made in jack pine barrens and in the mixed swamp conifers, and also that many times the areas that they are utilizing is found to be more open than that of surrounding forests. Areas of the Upper Peninsula, that I have observed the black-backed woodpecker include: the Baraga Plains in the western upper peninsula, the northern portion of Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Schoolcraft County, areas of northern Luce County in the Two-Hearted River and Swamp Lakes region, and the Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Whitefish Point region of Chippewa County. The black-backed woodpecker is a bird that averages about 9-10” in length and has about a 14-16” wingspan. True to its name, it has a “black back”, which when seen in bright sunlight, sometimes reflects a little green and blue colors. It also has a black tail, but the outer tail feathers shows white. The breast and undersides are white. There is an area of white and black barring, along the sides, between the back and breast. The male has a bright yellow cap. Female Black-backed Woodpecker at Nest The female is similar to that of the male, but it lacks the yellow cap. The black-backed woodpecker is a three-toed woodpecker, as it lacks one of the hind toes. It has two toes in the front and one toe in the back of its feet. The call of this woodpecker is that of a sharp click note, that is repeated a number of times, typically from an elevated perch. It will also “drum” on dead trees and snags, especially during the breeding season. This “drumming” can be heard at quite some distances in the conifer forests. In the spring the birds breed and nest in the conifer forests. They typically select a conifer tree, often a live tree. They excavate a cavity that may range from 2-80 feet in height from the ground. The cavity is typically 10-15” in depth. The female lays 2-6 eggs and incubation lasts about 14 days (Ehrlich, 1988). Our family was very fortunate to have the chance to observe a black-backed woodpecker nest during the spring and summer of 1999. The nest was located in western Chippewa County, in the area of Tahquamenon Falls State Park. The area was quite remote, being about a ¾ mile hike in from the nearest two-track road. The area was an open and mixed pine forest on the sandy ridges and mixed swamp conifers and leatherleaf bog in the swampy areas near the lake. We made several trips into the nesting area to observe and film the birds. The photos used to illustrate this article were taken at the nest site. Bonnie Heuvelhorst, my spouse, was also able to film the birds at the nest site on video and also captured the calls and drumming of the male, when he was at the nest site feeding the young. Notes and observations from the black-backed woodpecker nest in western Chippewa County, Michigan during the spring/summer 1999. Jon Spieles, naturalist at Tahquamenon Falls State Park located the nest, on June 8th. On June 26th, we visited the nest with Jon and Jodi Spieles. At this time, both adult birds were feeding young that were down in the nest cavity. The adults would enter the cavity, often with tail sticking out the entrance, indicating the young were not too deep in this cavity. On July 4th, Bonnie and I visited the nest site and found both adults feeding young (2), at the entrance to the nest cavity. On July 10th, I visited the nest and find that the young have fledged. The adults are found to be tending one of the fledged birds, in an area near the nest site. Young Black-backed Wookpecker Nesting Notes: The nest was in a live red pine tree that was about 18” in diameter at the stump. The cavity was at 17’ in height from the ground and it faced East-Southeast. The entrance hole to the cavity was 2-2.5” in diameter and the live bark was flecked off around the tree in the area of the cavity entrance. There was a northern flicker nest located within about 35 feet of the black-backed woodpecker nest. We noted that the adults were bringing in grubs, caterpillars, bees and flies to the young, as food. The female was feeding the young about twice as often, as that of the male. On average, the young were being fed about every 15-20 minutes. The adults would often call as they would approach the nest site and this would stimulate calling of the young in the cavity. Often the adults would land on a nearby tree, before flying to the nesting tree. After the feeding of the young, the female often flew to a nearby tree and perched for a short period of time, before flying off to search for additional food. The male would fly to a dead tree near the nest tree and do several of his drumming calls. The food gathering for the young was off at quite some distance from the nest, as we could not see the adults during this time. This was a good wildlife viewing area, as we also observed a pair of sandhill cranes with two young chicks, on June 26th and watched a dark-eyed junco nest, which fledged five young on July 4th. Male Black-backed Woodpecker feeding young There are some tips for those that might like to search for the black-backed woodpecker. I guess the best way to go about this is to “Look and Listen for the Signs of the Birds”. If you get into some of the good habitat areas for this species, listen for their calls or the drumming that they do during the breeding season. Other signs include; to look for areas of dead trees that have the bark flecked off of the trunks. Also look for excavation holes or cavities, where the birds have been digging in search of wood-boring beetles and grubs. Often these excavations can be found at very low heights from the ground. There are increased numbers of black-backed woodpeckers found in conifer forests that have recently had a forest fire. This opens up the trees to insects and the woodpeckers find these areas. Black-backed woodpeckers were found in increased numbers on Seney Refuge, after the fire there in 1976. In recent years, there are several areas along Highway 17 North in Ontario, along the North Shore of Lake Superior, which has burned conifer forests, that have been good areas to observe numbers of these woodpeckers. Another area to look for black-backed woodpecker activity, would be in areas where active beaver has flooded a low-lying conifer forest area. This also kills the trees and the woodpeckers are attracted to these areas. Currently, such as area can be found a couple of miles north of Trout Lake, in Chippewa County. This beaver flooded area is east of highway M-123 and there are a number of the dead and standing trees that show signs of the bark flecking. During the winter of 1999-2000, I observed the black-backed woodpeckers at this site, on several occasions. Information on nest cavity height, egg numbers and incubation lengths from The Birder’s Handbook-A field guide to the natural history of North American Birds 1988. Ehrlich, P.R., Dobkin, D.S. and D. Wheye. Simon and Schuster, New York 1989. All images & text in this Northern Michigan Birding Bird Profile are owned by Rick Baetsen. Rick specializes in nature photography and his photographs can be purchased online at Rick Baetsen Wildlife & Nature Photography