Downy Woodpeckers

The downy woodpecker is not endangered; it lives with people nearby finding food and nesting places easily. The baby downy needs a hollowed out tree for shelter and plenty of bugs to eat. Both are as available in Central Park as the forests of North America, the downy's natural habitat.

The life of the downy woodpecker is driven by the seasons. In spring they find their mates. Even though they mate for life, they must get acquainted each year. They search together for the nesting tree but the female chooses. They work together in alternating fifteen minute shifts to dig out the nest. The female lays 4 to 5 eggs over 4 to 6 days.

The eggs incubate for twelve days. The baby downies hatch with no feathers. Both parents feed them but only the male stays in the nest at night. In fifteen days the babies leave the nest but the parents continue to feed them for the rest of the summer.

In the fall the families split up. Downy woodpeckers live alone in fall and winter to make sure that their territory has enough insects, sap and berries to keep them alive until spring. The adult downy is six inches long weighing about one ounce. They have white bellies and striped black and white wings, which help camoflage them from hawks. If the downy woodpecker has enough food and isn't eaten by a hawk, it will live for 8 to 9 years in the Catskills or the Bronx. _