Getting to know Woodpeckers

There is just something about Woodpeckers . . . I blogged about the wonderful Pileated Woodpecker featured above a couple of months ago. IMG_4364 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 Notea great resource.IMG_4374

One of the most common Woodpeckers is our regular visitor in the two photos above, the Red-bellied Woodpecker.IMG_8786 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 😉

IMG_9270I 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!

 

24 thoughts on “Getting to know Woodpeckers

  1. 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.

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  2. 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.

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  3. 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. 😀

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  4. 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! 😛

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