Explore Woodpecker Holes and Why They are in High Demand: Backyard Birds Revealed

[RUSSELL LAMAN VOICEOVER]

Today we get a new perspective on birds as they investigate tree cavities, an essential forest resource where they sleep and nest. 

We’re wildlife filmmakers Tim and Russ Laman, and we usually travel the world filming. But in this series, we’re using our cameras to explore the lives of the birds that live right in our backyard in Massachusetts. Welcome to Backyard Birds Revealed.

[MUSIC] [WOMAN ANNOUNCER IN VOICEOVER]

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[TIM LAMAN ONSCREEN]

Right here in the woods behind our house, there are tons of woodpecker holes in these dead trees. These holes are valuable real estate. 

[RUSSELL VOICEOVER]

Woodpeckers will start drilling several holes per year, leaving many unfinished as they search for a perfect place to nest. Even when they do finish a nest hole, they often use it for only one season. All these leftover holes become a crucial resource for nuthatches, titmice, bluebirds, and even flying squirrels, which need holes for nesting but can’t excavate their own. 

[RUSSELL ONSCREEN AND VOICEOVER]

Over the last few weeks, we’ve gotten some lucky shots of birds looking into holes, but we want to try and get some really unique angles. So, we’re going to try and make some of our own holes and drill out the back so we can film birds coming in from the inside. I think it’ll give us a really new, interesting perspective.

[TIM ONSCREEN AND VOICEOVER]

This dead tree that fell over right at the edge of our yard here actually has some holes in it, including what looks like an old woodpecker hole here. The plan now is we’re going to drill a hole in the back of this tree so we can stick this probe lens inside this hole and try to get a shot of a bird looking in.

[SOUND OF ELECTRIC DRILL] [TIM ONSCREEN] That’s what we want the birds to do. Look in here.  [MUSIC] [RUSSELL VOICEOVER] This is a pretty cool view. [RUSSELL ONSCREEN AND VOICEOVER]

Well, we got the probe lens set up inside the tree. Now, I’m actually controlling it through an app on my phone so I can trigger it remotely and not scare the birds away. We’re also trying to film at the same time with the big lens so we can get two angles of the bird looking inside the hole. 

[TIM] Could be a waiting game.  [RUSSELL] It could be a while or it might not happen at all. We just had a nuthatch and we missed it. But that’s encouraging! First visit. [MUSIC] [TIM AND RUSSELL TALKING] 

Oh. Oh. Oh. Nuthatch. Nuthatch.

[RUSSELL]Oh, he’s about to look into the hole. Right.  [TIM] There he is. There he is. He’s looking in. He’s looking in. He’s looked in. I got it.  [RUSSELL] I got it, too. All right. Nice. 

He’s looking in upside down. 

[TIM] Yeah, he’s looking in from the top.  [RUSSELL] That was so cool.  [TIM] Get it? All right. Nice. 

That was a woodpecker right over the hole.

Did it twice. 

[RUSSELL] That was perfect.  [MUSIC]  [RUSSELL VOICEOVER] Nuthatches can take these shallow, unfinished woodpecker holes and expand them using their sharp bills. They just need the woodpecker to get through the hard outer wood, then they can do the rest.  [MUSIC]  [RUSSELL ONSCREEN] Well, we had several species of birds check out our tree cavities. So, I think the experiment was a real success. They were definitely curious about them. And I think it goes to show how important these tree cavities are for these birds.  [TIM ONSCREEN] A birdhouse is just an artificial tree cavity. And in some areas, birds don’t have enough natural cavities to nest in. So providing a birdhouse can be a great way to help the birds in your yard.  [RUSSELL ONSCREEN] Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of Backyard Birds Revealed. Please check out our other episodes on the Cornell Lab’s YouTube channel and the All About Birds website.

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