#108: Acorn Woodpeckers and Oak Masting with Dr. Walt Koenig

As a nature lover, I’m often asked about my favorite plants, animals, and insects. And I always struggle to answer those questions, because I have so many favorites, and they are context dependent. But when it comes to birds, woodpeckers often come to mind first. 

They’re often colorful, charismatic, and have such an amazing set of adaptations that let them drill into trees, excavate insects from bark, and some even fly catch on the wing. 

One of the most interesting woodpecker species is the Acorn Woodpecker, found in much of the west and southwest. They live in large groups, are loud, have a clown face, and can store thousands of acorns in specially drilled holes that are just acorn sizes.

Today’s guest is Dr. Walt Koenig, who has spent several decades studying these birds, in affiliation with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and UC Berkeley. Today we’ll learn about their behaviors, why you don’t find acorn woodpeckers in the east, despite a nice variety of oak trees, and get this - acorns aren’t even their preferred food! 

Dr. Koenig has studied their breeding behaviors and group compositions, which is perhaps the most fascinating part of the interview, and I can’t do it justice in a short intro - so you’ll just have to listen.

And if one studies acorn woodpeckers, it follows that one studies acorns, too. So we also discuss the phenomenon of masting - that is, when oak trees produce bumper crops of acorns, in synchrony across wide geographic ranges! In fact, this past year was a mast year for some oak species in California. So if you are interested in what causes masting, you might want to jump to the last 23 minutes or so of the interview.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Acorn Woodpeckers at All About Birds

Dr. Koenig's Website

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

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