The multi-story canopy found in New Hampshire woodlands creates a sheltering environment that is entirely different from the wide open meadow. It hosts its own set of birds who make their lives among the trees. 

One of the most common songbirds you hear in the deciduous forests of the Northeast is a small greenish-gray bird with red eyes, aptly named the Red-eyed Vireo. These little songsters often remain hidden from view high up in tree canopy, but they sing persistently in the spring and summer, whistling their signature song … “Here I am—look at me—over here!”. During the breeding season, individual males repeat these short phrases over and over again, all day long, by some counts over 20,000 times a day. 

Another common songbird sends an enchanting melody out through the deep woods. The muted brown Hermit Thrush is one of several vocal thrush species found in New Hampshire. Others include Wood Thrush and Veery. Thrushes achieve their magical harmonies with a distinctive trait absent in many other birds. They have a specialized voice box that allows them to produce two overlapping tones at the same time. Simply put, they can harmonize with themselves!

New Hampshire’s forests are home to several types of woodpeckers. Although not the most common, perhaps the most conspicuous is the Pileated Woodpecker. This bird is crow-sized and has a black body with white under its wings. The head has black and white stripes around the eyes and a brilliant crimson crest on top. Pileateds make a number of distinctive sounds, one sounds almost like a crazy cackling laugh. Like other woodpeckers, this species searches for wood-boring insects using its strong pointed beak to poke and prod dead wood and pry off tree bark. In the process, Pileateds often create large rectangular holes that you can find on the trunks of standing trees.

Reader: Becky Suomala