March 9, 2026: The Woodpecker Lesson

A couple of days ago, we heard a woodpecker in our backyard.

Bap bap bap bap… the sound was mesmerizing, like a drumline in the woods.

Did you know woodpeckers strike their beaks against timber around 20 times every second? The bird may even hit a tree 10,000 to 12,000 times a day.

You’d expect a scrambled egg situation inside that tiny head. But amazingly, its skull spreads impact through spongy bone and muscle. Consider the bird’s tongue. It extends far beyond the beak and wraps around the back of the skull, helping absorb the force during pecking.

Engineers have studied woodpecker skulls to improve football helmets and concussion research.

A few other findings about these remarkable creatures:

• Woodpeckers hunt tree insects, and during outbreaks of beetles or borers, they’re fantastic pest control.

• Pecking doesn’t just mean feeding, since they also “drum” to mark territory or attract a mate.

• Tiny feathers around the nostrils keep wood chips from entering the nose.

This small bird with incredible engineering has some truths for us. Protection isn’t in the beak (the tool), but hidden inside the skull (the structure). A reminder that true strength is often internal.

The woodpecker was built for the pressure it faces.

So were you.