A familiar sound rings through many of North America’s forests: the tap-tap-tap of Woodpeckers drumming for insects. Woodpeckers and the rest of their order rely heavily on both healthy forests and healthy forest floors to sustain the insect populations that feed them in turn. Few birds encapsulated the interconnectedness of nature better than these Avian Carpenters.

Woodpeckers faces the same challenges that endanger our other bird species— with the added challenge of needed strong and healthy trees. New York City has done a lot over the last twenty years to restore its urban forests, but there is always more work to be done.

Browse the photos below to meet some of the colorful characters you can find banging away in our parks.