Tree Damage Caused by Woodpeckers
The damage to trees caused by woodpeckers…
This post comes on the back of a recent walk around Tetney Blow Wells with my brother. It was a cold, still morning and wildlife was distinctly hard to find. Walking through the wood we were stopped in our tracks by the unmistakable sound of a woodpecker ‘knock, knock, knocking’ on a tree nearby. Now woodpeckers are far easier to hear than spot and possibly second only in the annoyance stakes after a kingfisher in trying to photograph.
As soon as it had started the knocking had stopped and once more we were alone in the wood. Following the trail through the wood my brother spotted a tree which had been all but decimated by a woodpecker and the damage caused was really quite alarming and worthy of a closer look.
Tree damage by Woodpecker
Woodpeckers tend to fall into two categories; insect hunters and sap suckers. The insect hunters are by far the lesser of the two evils for tree conservation, they look for insects in dead wood whilst sap suckers tear living trees apart in search for sap and the insects found in them and will return time and again making the holes larger and larger. This in turn attracts other visitors to the scene incurring more structural and bacterial damage by wood fungi and wood decay.
Insect eating woodpeckers will tap away at a tree until they are satisfied they have either eaten its inhabitants or there is no food to be found. The woodpecker has two useful tools at its disposal; its bill and tongue. The bill is used to tap away at the wood and make the incisions wherever it thinks bugs can be found whilst it uses its long, sticky tongue to grab at them with consumate ease. There is a definate double-edged sword about the woodpecker, when food is plentiful it will search out and eat bark lice and wood borers which are harmful to trees in their own right but when the food supply is low it will attack healthy wood and so undo all of its previous good work.
So listen out for your local woodpecker wherever you are for there is bound to be a species not so far away. Don’t just look into the trees though, find an ant hill and the chances are you’ll find a woodpecker.
Miles,
very useful and informative - I was on the trail of one yesterday but it proved elusive.
Am I right in thinking they only set about trees already dead or is that just a myth.
Great picture
All the best
Rod
March 6, 2010 @ 4:06 pm
Miles,
Many thanks for this enlightening information. I had no idea that there were these 2 types of woodpeckers - apart from the different species, of course.
I see a lot of great spotted woodpeckers in Germany and the odd green ones. I have got to know the stretch of woodland that they occupy and their flight paths. Unfortuntely, I am minus your photography equipment
Anne
March 6, 2010 @ 6:54 pm
Hi Miles:
We have a big selection of woodpeckers in the backyard - including the very large pileated ones from time to time. And boy are they loud!
I’m wondering if some of those large holes you spotted aren’t nesting cavities?
L
March 8, 2010 @ 1:56 am
Rod,
They usually only go at dead trees but will have a go at live ones too, it often depends on the breed of woopecker.
Miles
March 8, 2010 @ 2:31 pm
Laura,
Wish I was there with my camera!! Some can be nesting holes but often they are simply gouged out holes for grubs etc.
Miles
March 8, 2010 @ 2:32 pm
Miles,
Interesting! Would you like a photo of tree damage done by “wintering” deer?
Melissa
March 8, 2010 @ 8:27 pm
Miles,
I’ve got a tree in danger of damage caused by over dangling….. I can’t help myself when it comes to lanterns, bird feeders and the odd wind-chime. Woodpeckers however, won’t come near… could be the glare of the lights, the clanking of the chimes or is it the ravenous squirrel and his close relatives the lemon possets, all dangling by their tails digesting a three course meal from the banqueting table and dangling take-away kiosks
Cid
March 8, 2010 @ 10:06 pm
Melissa,
I’d love that, thank you very much.
Miles
March 9, 2010 @ 5:38 pm
Cid,
Sounds like you’ve got the right idea
Miles
March 9, 2010 @ 5:39 pm