Down in the forest

These Woodpeckers are huge and so impressive - almost prehistoric looking! When the sun shines through that red crest, it glows!

“Pileated woodpeckers, the largest woodpeckers in North America, hammer their heads into trees with a force of 15 mph, 20 times a second. So how do their heads not turn to mush? Thick muscles, sponge-like bones, and a third eyelid keep bird brains intact. "If you get hit hard in the head, you can break blood vessels behind the eye or traumatize nerves behind eye," said University of California Davis ophthalmologist Ivan Schwab. ‘Seeing patients in car accidents and knowing what woodpeckers do made me wonder why these injuries don't happen in woodpeckers.’

Last fall, Schwab was honored with an Ig Nobel award, the irreverent version of the Nobel Prize, for his research on how woodpeckers avoid headaches, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Along with their straight-as-an-arrow strikes at the tree, which safeguards against head trauma, birds' bodies are designed to absorb the impact. One millisecond before a strike comes across the bill, dense muscles in the neck contract, and the bird closes its thick inner eyelid. Some of the force radiates down the neck muscles and protects the skull from a full blow. A compressible bone in the skull offers cushion, too. Meanwhile, the bird's closed eyelid shields the eye from any pieces of wood bouncing off the tree and holds the eyeball in place. The eyelid acts like a seat belt and keeps the eye from literally popping out of the head," Schwab told LiveScience. "Otherwise, acceleration would tear the retina." The outside portion of the eye itself is firm, filled with blood to support the retina from being jostled around.

Bird brains also remain rigid during head banging. Injuries to the human head make our brains bounce back and forth in the cerebral spinal fluid, bathing the organ, but woodpeckers have virtually none of this fluid. While scientists can't be certain that woodpeckers don't get headaches, Schwab pointed out that the birds are at least very tolerant of headaches.” From Science on NBC News, 1 August 2007.

www.nbcnews.com/id/16531772/ns/technology_and_science-sci...

We saw this one yesterday, 27 October 2015, down in Fish Creek Park, during a three-hour walk from Bebo Grove to Shannon Terrace and back. It was a sunny day, calm, 2-6°C. Also saw a second Pileated. Neither were close, hence this rather distant shot that leaves rather a lot to be desired : ) It gives you an idea, though, of the habitat these breathtaking birds live in.

The following is the final list of species seen, compiled by the leaders of the groups:

Canada Goose-40+
Swan sp., -14
Merlin-1
Downy Woodpecker-8
Hairy Woodpecker-4
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER-3
Northern Flicker-1
Pileated Woodpecker-2+
Blue Jay-10
Black-billed Magpie-15
Common Raven-6+
Black-capped Chickadee-50+
BOREAL CHICKADEE-2
Red-breasted Nuthatch-15
White-breasted Nuthatch-3
Brown Creeper-3
Golden-crowned Kinglet-2
Townsend’s Solitaire-2
American Robin-8
Pine Grosbeak-5+
House Finch-6
Red Crossbill-8
White-winged Crossbill-30+
Common Redpoll-3
Pine Siskin-10+

Red Squirrel-18
White-tailed Deer-1
Mule Deer-4