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This Morning Outside

by Diane Porter

October 7, 2009
In the woods near Birdwatching Dot Com
Fairfield, Iowa

This female red-bellied woodpecker was busy with her harvest chores this morning. I wonder whether she stored this acorn somewhere to retrieve it in winter, or whether she ate it right away and stored it as fat.

Sometimes, especially in fall, redbellies hide food, such as small acorns like this one, in the furrows of tree bark. They don't try to stop any other bird or animal from stealing the food, but they do seem to remember where they've hidden it.