On Thursday, March 5, 2009, we took the Lake Hodges and Kit Carson Park Trip (San Diego Bird Festival). We were hiking around Kit Carson Park, located on Via Rancho Parkway in Escondido, California, when we saw this male Nuttall's Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii, a life bird for us. This species is often hidden in foliage and may be heard before being seen. Nuttall's Woodpeckers frequent a mix of deciduous riparian and adjacent oak habitats, occurring in oak woodlands, live oak forests, and chaparral. Insects, such as beetles, caterpillars, and ants, along with fruits, berries, poison oak seeds, nuts, and sap comprise their diet (acorns make up only a small portion). Nuttall's Woodpecker is a permanent resident with a range limited to west of the southern Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, extending from northern California to Mexico's Baja California. It was a cool, partly cloudy morning with temperatures in the mid-60's.