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Nature Smart: Why three toes? Meet the black-backed woodpecker

Built for fire-scarred forests, the black-backed woodpecker thrives where others flee. Its soot-dark back camouflages against charred trunks as it chisels beetle larvae from burned pines. Specialized feet, stiff tail feathers, and a keen ear make it a master of post-wildfire renewal during early successional forest stages. (Photo by Stan Tekiela)

Winter in the northwoods is a special place and time of year. There is just something exceptional and inviting about the absolute silence, stillness, and wildness that combines to make it a great place to be alone and experience nature.
Several interesting and unique species occur in the northwoods. I’m especially intrigued by northwoods “specialists.” Recently I searched for a specialty bird, the black-backed woodpecker.

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