This mornings woodpeckers

kendra2003

15 years ago

I happened to catch a Hairy Woodpecker on one side of the tree, with a Red-Bellied on the other. I have had a hard time trying to get a photo since they move so much, but I got lucky this morning, so I thought I'd share.

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Comments (10)

chickadeemelrose
15 years ago
Congrats! What a great photo - you couldn't ask for a better moment, with the two of them on the tree - way to go!
lisa11310
15 years ago
Great illistration on the size of these birds and may help newbies with the difference between Downies and Haries!
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Saw a Pileated Woodpecker this morning
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Comments (11)
Certainly must be exciting. We've seen them a handful of times in various places in PA, but mostly in deep woods and forests in the northern tier counties. We've never seen a pair, though, only solitary birds. It would be really something if they established a nest on your property, wouldn't it. I've never heard a pileated's call, in fact I thought they were more or less mute, with their drumming being their main mode of territorial communication. So your observation is illuminating to me. We've found that we could get real close to these birds during several of our encounters with them. I can see how their movements would appear agitated, but comparing them with observations of other woodpecker species, I think their jerky and erratic movements, especially when foraging on tree trunks, are pretty characteristic of woodpeckers in general. Somehow I have always had the impression that woodpeckers are among the dimwits of the bird world. I can't explain why this seems so to me, exactly, but maybe it's because they seem so oblivious to my presence even when I have stood very near to them. I also have this notion that any creature that finds its sustenance by beating its head against oak and other hardwoods all day must have evolved in conjunction with a trend toward a minimal number of brain cells. I don't mean to diminish your admiration for the pileated by my less flattering observations - they just arose due to my questionable sense of humor. In fact, a pileated siting is a breathtaking occurence, in my opinion. There's something so uncanny in their physical appearance and bearing, and I always find myself wondering "How can this fantastic creature" - they do bring pteridactyls to mind, don't they? - "be inhabiting the twentieth millenium instead of prehistory?" Hope you see 'em again. By the way, what kind of habitat is around your property? Do you have a lot of old established trees or extensive woodlands? These are the only habitats in which I've ever seen them, and my sitings have always occurred well north of Bucks County. cranebill
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Red Bellied Woodpecker
Q
Comments (5)
I have photo documented over 100 species of birds in our yard, but without question, the woodpeckers, and especially the Red Bellied woodpeckers are my favorites. Judging by minor differences in their markings I have to date been able to positively identify 9 separate Red BellyÂs that frequent my feeders. (5 males & 4 females) although I suspect there are more. On one occasion I counted 7 Red Bellies all present at the same time. From my observations I have deduced that the Red Bellies are really very congenial to the other birds as is evidenced this picture of a Red Belly on the feeder with a couple sparrows; However, without question, there is no love loss between Red Bellies and European Starlings. In the next two photos you can see both a male and a female Red Belly squaring off with starlings at the suet feeder; In this shot you can clearly see the Red Belly from which they get their names: (note-the white specks in the photo are not defects, the shot was taken during a heavy snow storm) Note how the woodpeckers use their tails for balance. According to the information in my bird book they are so dependant upon those tail feathers for balance when perched on a tree that when molting the new feather is completely grown in before the old feather is lost. What I find most amazing about woodpeckers is how they can maintain flight attitude control with such a small tail in proportion to their body size and wingspan as you can see from this Red Belly in flight; The following photo is a Red Belly on a Maple Tree limb. You can clearly see the new leaf buds on the Maple Tree. I liked this photo so much that I have selected it as my Springtime Desk Top wallpaper.
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red-bellied woodpecker
Q
Comments (7)
When you all talk about suet, do you mean the packaged gooey stuff that goes in the square green wired baskets, or the bell-shaped thingy with seeds all over it? Or something enrirely different?? Terrene, what is a log? Can you post a picture of what you all are talking about? Oh, and I did see the woodpecker yesterday evening, but not at my feeder. He (actually she) was flying from one tree to another. It was funny watching her. On the tree she stopped at, she landed on the trunk and hopped backwards (down the trunk) and then after a little pecking, hopped back upwards.
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Woodpecker ID Please
Q
Comments (2)
Oh thank you so much Susan, you are soooo good. You'll be in my prayers tonight !!!
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marricgardens
15 years ago
Awesome shot! We only get one woodpecker here. I thought it was a Downy but when I posted a pic, I was corrected and told it was a Hairy.
kendra2003
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks so much. Yes, I think it really does help to show the size in order to identify the Hairy vs. the Downy. I've had Downies and Hairies on the tree at the same time and tried to get a shot of that, but so far have not been successful.
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
15 years ago
Incredible photo!

I haven't seen any Red-bellies this winter. I miss them.

Claire
lazypup
15 years ago
Fantastic Photo.

Like many others I had erroneously identified a female downy woodpecker as a hair woodpecker until a hairy actually showed up and I saw the difference in size.

I have since adopted a couple tricks to give a physical reference on the size of different birds.

For woodpeckers I made a suet feeder using galvanized hardware cloth that has a 1/2" square mesh. In the manner when the woodpecker is sitting on or near the suet feeder I have a good physical size reference in the photo.

On my other feeders I took a permanent magic marker and marked dots at 1/2" both vertical and horizontal.

Here are a coupe woodpecker shots to show how the 1/2" grid shows their size.
chickadeemelrose
15 years ago
My way of distinguishing the hairy from the downy woodpecker is that the hairy's bill is at least half the length of his head.

I hope to get my hairy woodpecker photos on here soon (I've never done it without a lot of help).
kendra2003
Original Author
15 years ago
I hope you can get your photos up. I would love to see the pictures of your Hairies.
sowngrow (8a) G
15 years ago
Love that photo Kendra-yours too lazypup. I can never get enough of seeing woodpeckers. I had a Downy at my suet today, as I often do. After eating his fill, he lounged on a branch above the feeder. He was actually stretched out along the branch and just turning his head, looking side to side as he "laid out." I've never seen anything like it. I noticed in my Sibley that the Downy has a conspicuous tuft above the bill which is the easiest way for me to distinquish between the Downy and Hairy woodpeckers.
rachel_frome_ky
15 years ago
Such cute photos..the first one is unusual, and great for size comparisons

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This mornings woodpeckers

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This mornings woodpeckers

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