ML645055879

Observation details

Continuing rarity found yesterday by Russell Kokx. Small, immature woodpecker with large, conical bill, brown head, white secondaries w/ black chevrons on the dorsal side, dingy brown back with horizontally-oriented dark stippling (smaller stipples towards the nape), etc. A skittish bird that would occasionally allow for a closer approach, particularly when focused on picking through a date cluster to find one to harvest. During this process, it would often hang upside down for extended periods. On 6-8 occasions, it secured a date and then cached it by working it just so into a desired fissure before solidifying it into place with a few sedate taps. Interestingly, I never saw it use the granary tree as the cache tree; it would always fly at least 2-3 trees away from where it secured the date before storing it. Does this behavior portend a bird desiring to winter, or is it instinctive and performed by birds even as they prepare to continue their migration? Only time will tell. Photos and recordings of chuckle calls obtained.