There is just something about Woodpeckers . . . I blogged about the wonderful Pileated Woodpecker featured above a couple of months ago. Since that time, a variety of other Woodpeckers have caught my attention. There is a collection of stories about varied types of Woodpeckers on Bird Note, a great resource.
One of the most common Woodpeckers is our regular visitor in the two photos above, the Red-bellied Woodpecker. A fellow birder told me this little fellow above was a Hairy Woodpecker. But now, after listening to this episode on BirdNote, called Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, How to tell them apart, I think it was actually a Downy 😉
I recently spied this unique Woodpecker for the first time at the local preserve. Based on its color patterns, and the images in my field guides, my guess is that it’s a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. But it just isn’t as chubby as the ones on All About Birds – I’d be happy to be corrected if I’m wrong!
Beautiful, aren’t they? ☺
Absolutely!
Excellent photos of woodpeckers. Thank you for sharing the info, very interesting. I’m new to WordPress.com. How do I add your URL to my main page? My URL is fusingphotoswithwords.wordpress.com.
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Gorgeous shots. I too love woodpeckers and never tire of watching them. I think that the last one is in fact a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, though I am no expert and defer to others with more experience to confirm your identification.
Thanks, Mike – and thanks for weighing in on the ID!
Don’t you love their special and handsome look? I especially like how they sneak around the trunk to seemingly avoid the camera.
Thanks for the info on the woodpeckers as well.
Yes, and I agree, they are so handsome!!
Fantastic woodpecker photos here, BJ. Downy and Hairy woodpeckers are tricky to tell apart, but I have found it helpful that the hairy’s bill is just about as big as its head, and the downy’s bill is smaller than its head. Your take on the hairy/down is correct, it’s a downy. 😀
Pretty cool info from Jet.
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I use that little downy/hairy guide every week — I hope it helps you, BJ. 😀
I’ll remember that one ;-D
Yes. . . !
Thanks, Jet. That’s a great tip to remember!
Beautiful photos of such a variety of woodpeckers. We get a lot of woodpeckers up here too. Noisy devils.
You’re so right, Donna – they can be really noisy. But I love it when I can tell which woodpecker it is just from the sound of its drumming 😉
very cool shots! we have 2-3 Downies who patronize the suet feeder, and two Northern Flickers who patronize the suet feeder, *and* make sure you know when they (the males) are drilling on the side of the house! 😛
I have never seen a Flicker – how lucky you are! I confess that I never really appreciated birds back in the days when ‘someone’ used to drill in our house in New York.
Great photos, BJ! Always nice to see birds we don’t have here in Europe. 😀
So glad you enjoyed them!
Great captures, this is an excellent field guide. No leaves and cooler temps winter is Woodpecker time in Arkansas…. I will keep a lookout for these beauties.
Though their hammering gives most woodpeckers away, no leaves can be a real asset! Hope you see some 🙂
A beautiful gallery of woodpeckers!
Little by little I’m still beginning to recognize more and more woodpeckers…. A great part of the fun of birding is learning more all the time!