I hope everyone is enjoying this morning’s data dump. I am relaxing back home in Duluth and processing the last of my Tucson area birding excursions. This post reflects a fun birding excursion I took to the town of Oracle, which is 33 miles north of central Tucson. My research prior to our trip south had indicated there were two Lewis Woodpeckers hanging out with the Acorn Woodpeckers in and near the Oracle Town Park (Google Maps Link).

While Oracle may only be 33 miles north of Tucson, given its elevation you escape to the edge of the desert and find yourself surrounded with pine trees. The HUGE pine cones loaded with seeds attract Acorn Woodpeckers (year round residents) and the two Lewis Woodpeckers. Given how Acorn Woodpeckers like to store food (check out each of the million and one holes in the park’s power poles), I wonder if the Lewis Woodpeckers are “stealing” from their cousins. Regardless it was a fun afternoon excursion.

Acorn Woodpecker

Lewis Woodpecker