The Golden Oak Savanna
The oak savanna is full of golden leaves. The hickories are particularly beautiful this year. Their leaves have taken on a variety of…
The oak savanna is full of golden leaves. The hickories are particularly beautiful this year. Their leaves have taken on a variety of yellow and gold earth tones. They turn a walk on the trail into a sublime experience. People have taken notice. Both parking lots were full yesterday and the sunny 60 degree weather was perfect for a walk in the woods. I met old friends on the trail and made some new ones. Kids were out in force, their voices carrying through the trees. The quality of the light this time of year enhances the color of the fall leaves and the ambiance of the woods. The light is soft, clear and inviting. The sun’s rays have lost the harshness of summer. A single illuminated Shagbark Hickory is a sight to behold. Especially if it is also full of beautiful birds. Red-headed Woodpeckers are the most common and conspicuous resident of the oak savanna this time of year. You can hear their chattering calls throughout the savanna.
They are also easy to see and the warm weather has made them even more conspicuous. In addition to caching acorns for the winter, they are flycatching and adding insects to their cache. You can see them perched in a snag turning their heads like a flycatcher scanning the sky for insects. It does not take long before they sally forth in a graceful arc with their black and white wings gleaming in the fall light. They appear to effortlessly snatch insects out of the air and return to their perch where they will either eat the insect or pack it into a hole or crevice in the tree.
When I first saw this I thought I was imagining it, so I kept watching and taking photos. It became clear that they are storing insects as well as acorns for their winter food. They are packing the snags with food. You can hear them tapping on acorns hammering them into place. The quality of this sound differs from the sound of them hammering the tree itself. They also adopt different postures for tapping acorns versus wood. When they are poised to hammer the tree, they appear to take measure of the task. They brace their stiff tail feathers against the tree, get a firm grip and raise their head and body up as they focus on the tree. Then, the chips fly. The embodied energy of the acorn is chipping away at the oak, hastening its return to the soil. Some birds find a particularly resonant tree and their drumming carries through the woods. The chattering calls, drumming sounds, fall colors and clear fall light make for a sublime scene.