What famous cartoon character lives in Seward Park? Well, not literally "lives" there, but the character Woody Woodpecker was "modeled" after one of our resident birds, the pileated woodpecker. The popular cartoon woodpecker, created in 1940, closely resembles the pileated variety with its brilliant red crest. But it's not only the red crest that makes the pileated woodpecker so easily recognizable. This is the largest woodpecker in North America (with the exception of the recently "rediscovered" Ivory-billed Woodpecker).
The pileated measures nearly 1 foot long with a wingspan of nearly 2 feet. Its striking black and white feathers and its long neck seem almost prehistoric. The visual presence of this bird fits perfectly with its loud, resonant drum-ming, ringing and wild, "kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk" call (quite similar to that of the more familiar Northern flicker).
The pileated woodpecker lives year round in the park and is typically seen in the interior of the forest, where the mature, old-growth forest provides the large snags and large, decaying live trees that are a necessity for nesting, roosting and foraging. The bird is also known to breed in several other Seattle parks in Seattle, including Magnolia's own Discovery Park as well as Schmitz Park and Camp Long.
A foraging pileated is quite a sight. Each well-aimed strike from its chisel-like bill breaks off large chucks of wood to reveal its favorite foods: carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae. As evidence of their foraging techniques, note the deep, rectangular excavations in logs and dead standing or fallen trees. The woodpecker is uniquely adapted for such foraging. Its tongue, barbed on the tip, extends more than twice the length of its bill and is coated with sticky saliva to cap-ture its prey. Its feet have two toes pointing forward and two backward for clinging on trees, and its tail feathers are stiffened for bracing and balancing as it forages on the trees.
Pileated woodpeckers form year-round pair bonds. Their nest cavity is typically located about 45 feet high in a large snag and is excavated by both the male and female. After the female lays four white eggs, both parents incubate them, although the male does all the nocturnal incubating. After 15 to 18 days, the young hatch and are immobile and downless. Their eyes are closed, and they are unable to feed themselves.
Pileated woodpeckers are unique in that they have been known to retrieve their eggs after the sudden collapse of the nest tree. In one recorded event, the female, within 20 minutes of her nest crashing to the ground, transferred the clutch of three eggs to a new site. The male, discovering the catastrophe on his return to the site nearly two hours later, actively searched the surrounding area and located his mate and the new nest site. The pair successfully resumed their breeding effort.
On a diet of regurgitated ants and larvae, provided by both the male and female, the young grow rapidly and venture out of the nest cavity in 26 to 28 days. At this time of year, the birds at Seward Park are close to leaving the nest cavity, if they have not already. They are more easily observed now, as the young have voracious appetites and keep the parents quite busy.
Where pileated woodpeckers reside, one can witness a rich and diverse number of wildlife species. Their deep foraging excavations create opportunities for weaker excavators, as well as exposing prey that can be consumed by other species. Their nesting and roosting cavities are used by other forest species such as the Vaux's swift, barred owl and any stray parrots.
Unfortunately, the availability of large snags and large, decaying live trees used for nesting and roosting by pileated woodpeckers has declined in many areas as a result of urban development and forestry management practices. Today the pileated woodpecker is listed as a State Candidate Species in Washington; that is, they will be reviewed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for possible listing as Endangered, Threatened or Sensitive.
In 1972, the Woody Woodpecker cartoon series came to an end. By preserving our park's mature, large, decaying and dead snags, we can help ensure that our own "Woody Woodpecker" will continue to grace our environs and remind us what a healthy forest really is about.
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