woodpecker pecking the ground? (1 Viewer)

[brannity]

Hello,

Does anyone know if this is normal for a red bellied woodpecker? I was quite surprised to see it pecking at the ground today. It was pecking at a dry area of dirt in my yard by our feeders. We were putting out suet and seed cakes which it liked. However, we have raccoons that keep taking the suet so I've left it almost empty for the past week. I'm worried it got used to the food source and now it is so hungry that it has to engage in unusual behaviors in order to eat.

 

[Bird_Bill]

Hi brannity, welcome.
Nah, not unusual to see them on the ground. More the exception than the rule, but frequent enough. Will not see them foraging terrestrially as much as Flickers, of course. Could have been after some ants. Their tongues can reach close to 2 inches (50mm). I put out cracked walnuts, they'll grab an entire halve, wedge it in tree bark to break it up, and jump down to get fallen pieces.

An interesting article below from an org that's a friend of the forum.
Woodpecker Tongues