Friday, March 11, 2016

Downy Woodpecker

A frequent little visitor to our feeder area is this Downy Woodpecker and the main attraction is our peanut feeder. the Downy is present almost daily. The red area on the back of this woodpecker's head indicates that  it is the male of this species.
In the picture above you can see a few black notch markings on the white of its under tail.  These little markings are an identifier for a Downy Woodpecker.  The  larger look alike Hairy Woodpecker does not have these small black notches on its under tail.
 the black markings on the white under tail are not always easily seen but by its smallness alone you can pretty well identify this woodpecker by its size.
 
Have a nice day everyone.  we had snow overnight so our ground is still snowcovered.  Hopefully it will absorb into the ground before the end of the day.

2 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Good morning, I love the Downy Woodpeckers! They are great visitors. Wonderful photos. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

Ruth Hiebert said...

The Downy is a cutie. I find that at my feeders they are more approachable,compared to the Hairy who flys away at the slightest move.