The feature image is a female Downy Woodpecker at one of our feeders with a peanut in the beak. Caught red handed!
Female
Downy Woodpeckers are a small woodpecker 5.5-6.5 inches long (14-17 cm). They are often seen on backyard feeders. These woodpeckers prefer suet, black oil sunflower seeds, millet, peanuts and chunky peanut butter. They look like the Hairy Woodpecker but about 2/3 the size and can cause a beginner birder some real identification issues. They are black and white with a solid white stripe down the center of their back.
Male
The male is distinguishable by the red cap on his head. They can be seen throughout most of North America and in Bermuda. In the winter, Downy Woodpeckers often fly with other species in mixed flocks which allows them to spend less time looking for predators. Safety in numbers!
This is my first time participating in April Blogging from A-Z Challenge. As a birder and photographer, I will be sharing a new bird with you every day. I host a weekly photo challenge called Bird Weekly and would love for you to stop by anytime. Join in if that is your thing too.
16 responses to “A-Z Challenge – D is for Downy Woodpecker”
What a beautiful little bird💜
They are pretty and fun to watch too! Their little personalities are almost like a joker. 🙂
💜🤗
There are downy woodpeckers in this area, wintertime is usually when I see them.
Yes, we saw them when were there in September, 2019. Got a look at a Hairy too while we were there. He was in a tree at the B&B we were staying in Montana! That is always a treat! 🙂
We were lucky and saw the Lewis woodpecker a number of times, always a thrill, no pictures. I do have a number pictures of the acorn wecker another treat to see.
Both of those woodpeckers would be lifers for me. I love the way the Acorn looks. 😊
Awesome captures!
Thank you so much! They are always fun to watch. 🙂
I like watching these little guys.
Me too. 😊
that’s a cool looking bird. I often hear woodpeckers, but then I have trouble seeing them!
I propose getting a nice pair of binoculars. Not just to see birds. They are great for people watching too…lol! NOT THAT WAY! 🙂
sounds like a pair of binoculars have a wide range of uses 🙂
Absolutely! But you didn’t hear that from me. LOL! 🙂
🙂