Woodpeckers Hoarding 50,000 Acorns in Poland become Documentary Film Stars

Woodpeckers stockpile 50,000 acorns in trees in preparation for the winter. It is no wonder that a filmmaker in Poland made these avian hoarders the stars of her new documentary.

Loud Birds

In a recent PBS Nature documentary titled "Woodpeckers: The Hole Story," filmmaker Ann Johnson Prum focused on these peculiar birds.

Prum spoke with Treehugger about her fascinating experiences filming woodpeckers, as well as the reasons behind her fascination with them.

When asked why she was fascinated by woodpeckers and if she had any first-hand knowledge of the boisterous, hard-working birds, Prum replied that everyone is familiar with the loud birds, which can be found anywhere, whether in a city or the countryside. Prum considered them to be a wonderful animal to investigate using cutting-edge scientific research and camera technology to truly gain an inside look at their daily lives.

Acorn Woodpeckers

Prum chose to discuss black woodpeckers and acorn woodpeckers among the 239 species of woodpeckers.

Prum and her team wanted to demonstrate the various strategies woodpeckers have used to dominate various habitats throughout the world. The two contrasting woodpeckers Prum wish to spend time with throughout the nesting season were the acorn woodpecker, which gathers and stores acorns.

On the other hand, the black woodpecker is known as a large, powerful, and elusive woodpecker found in Europe. Her team traveled to Argentina to film the Andean flicker, which lives high in the Andes above the treeline, and the Gila woodpecker, which lives in the deserts of the American Southwest and builds its nest in Saguaro cacti. She also wanted to highlight how woodpeckers can survive without trees.

Wealth, Work, OCD

The acorn woodpeckers caught Prum's attention the most.

When Treehugger asked Prum how it felt to watch the birds at work, Prum responded that watching an acorn woodpecker store its prized acorns and repeatedly check to see if they still fit in the holes made for these nuts gives her the uncontrollable urge to attribute to them human neurotic or OCD feelings.

Their actions come across as blatantly compulsive and obsessive. But for the woodpeckers, it's a way to guarantee that there will be enough food and protein to support the development of their young and provide for their family. In the documentary, Prum equated wealth to a lot of work.

They only implant the acorns in one tree, known as a granary tree. One tree may produce up to 50,000 acorns, according to Cool Green Science.

According to All About Birds, the eccentric red-capped birds gather tons of nutrient-rich acorns and then tuck them into trees, leaving beak tattoos in the holes they make. They guard their supply and depend on the nuts to provide them with food all winter.

Having Favorites

Prum returned home to her favorite woodpeckers after cataloging so many different species.

Following her return from Poland, Prum discovered a small downy woodpecker family nesting in her backyard. Although she finds all woodpecker species to be amazing and distinctive, she liked that little family in her backyard the most, Treehugger reports.

The documentary film "Woodpeckers: The Hole Story" can be watched below: