Winter in the Northwoods is a very special place and time of year. There is just something exceptional and inviting about the absolute silence, stillness and wildness that combines to make it a great place to be alone and experience nature.

The wildlife in the Northwoods is unlike any other habitat. Several interesting and unique species occur here. Sure, many of the more familiar species also occur here but it’s the Northwoods specialists that really interest me.

Recently I spent some time looking for a Northwoods specialty bird, the Black-backed Woodpecker. The Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is also known as the Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker. Right now, you might be thinking to yourself, Three-toed Woodpecker is a strange name. Obviously, this bird must have only three toes. Let’s take a closer look at this and see what is interesting about this woodpecker. 

There are 241 species of woodpecker in the world. We have 23 species here in North America. All of these woodpeckers around the world have four toes, except for three. Yep, you got that. Of all the woodpeckers in the world, only three of them have three toes. They are the Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis) the Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) and the Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus). So, two out of the three species of woodpecker in the world that have only three toes live right here in the Northwoods.

One of the many amazing things about woodpeckers is their feet. In order to cling to the vertical sides of trees without falling off is the number of toes they have and how those toes are arranged. Toe arrangement in birds is critical. Most birds have four toes, with three facing forward and one backwards. For most woodpeckers they have a unique toe arrangement. They have two toes forward and two toes back. This is called a zygodactyl foot. The extra toe facing the rear gives them more gripping strength to hold onto the tree and fight gravity. 

So, what’s up with the species that only have three toes? This specialized adaptation gives the bird an advantage when searching for food. The Black-backed Woodpecker specializes in feeding on the larvae of wood-boring beetles, especially in forests that have been damaged by forest fires. So, these birds move around from year to year following areas of forest that have been damaged by forest fires, which can make finding these woodpeckers challenging.

The advantage of the three toes in this woodpecker allows them to lean further back and thus deliver a more powerful hammering blow to remove the tree’s bark. While they pound directly into a tree trunk like other woodpeckers, much of what the Black-backed Woodpecker does is more of a glancing blow. This sideways pecking flecks or peals the outer bark off the tree which exposes the larva stage of the beetles which is the majority of their food source.

The larvae range from 2 to 15 mm in length. Each one is a protein packed package of food. While photographing the Black-backed Woodpecker over 2 days, I watched as they pulled one larva after another out from under the newly flaked bark. When they find a tree with a good amount of bark beetle larvae they usually stay on the tree for upwards of 15 or 20 minutes, moving up and down flaking off the bark and exposing the larvae underneath.

After two days of searching and photographing the Black-backed Woodpecker in the great Northwoods in winter, I was ready to warm up and get back to the office.Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the world to capture images of wildlife. He can be followed at www.Instagram.com and www.Facebook.com. He can be contacted via his website at www.NatureSmart.com.