Whilst meandering around Toro Park one day I came upon a mystery. Well, a mystery to me.
My first clue was a tree. A huge, ancient Sycamore with a wide enough girth for easily seven people to encircle standing side by side.
The trunk of that tree is riddled with thousands of holes from down near the base on up to the furthest reaches and out onto the largest branches.
Could woodpeckers be drilling for bugs? Could one tree be that infested with bugs? The answer to these questions: No and No.
Closer inspection of the tree showed that most of the holes had an acorn peeking out from inside.
The bird responsible for turning the tree into a storage place or “granary tree” is the Acorn Woodpecker.
These birds live in a large social group sharing the raising of their young, guarding their “trees” from would-be robbers (blue jays and squirrels) and keeping their food supply replenished.
The cavity in this tree could be one of their nests.
After a long day this Acorn Woodpecker stops at a nearby water fountain for a drink.