RE: [SBB] Ulistac Nuttall's Nest

[Hintermeister Jan-AJH130 <[[email protected]]>]

Phil, 

Thanks for mentioning the Nuttall's.  I haven't been out to Ulistac for quite some time, so I took the opportunity to go at lunchtime and in about 15 minutes I saw two visits to the dead tree by an insect-laden female Nuttall's Woodpecker.  While at Ulistac, I saw a few other typical birds of the area, such as Bewick's Wren, Lesser Goldfinch, Bullock's Oriole.  That said, I'm about to deviate off-topic, so be warned.

While reading your post, I immediately knew the tree you were talking about.  To call it a tree is to give it credit.  All the branches have long since fallen or been cut off, so all that remains is about a 15 foot tall knobby post with many holes.  

The decision by the City of Santa Clara to preserve the area that is now called Ulistac was a very contentious political decision.  One 4th of July weekend several years ago, a fire burned through a large part of the southern part of Ulistac.  I don't think it was ever determined whether it was an accidental or deliberate fire.  As part of the cleanup afterward, City park people went through and marked various trees that needed to be taken down for public safety, primarily to prevent dead branches from falling on the heads of trail users.  One of the trees that was marked, although not touched by fire, was the "tree" that now is providing a nest cavity for the Nuttall's Woodpecker family.  

Seeing that this particular tree was no danger to the public, although it probably provided a visual offense to some, a resident of Santa Clara called the City Planning Department and asked that the tree be saved because dead trees can provide valuable habitat for woodpeckers.  The City checked with the staff from the Architect's office selected to design Ulistac, and determined that it would be ok to save the tree.  A couple years later I saw a Downy Woodpecker excavating a cavity, but I don't think it ever nested.  I'm glad to see that this old dead tree is finally bearing fruit.

Jan Hintermeister
Santa Clara, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: south-bay-birds-bounces+jan.hintermeister=[[email protected]] [mailto:south-bay-birds-bounces+jan.hintermeister=[[email protected]]] On Behalf Of Phil Brown
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2005 5:36 PM
To: South Bay Birds, Mailing List
Subject: [SBB] Ulistac

I found a NUTTALLS WOODPECKER nest this afternoon at Ulistac. The nest 
(hole) is in a dead tree along the path near the north entrance.
Phil Brown
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