The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in North America, a feature that gives it an advantage in the access of some bugs. That this one is a male is evident from the red patch on its head.
When hunting for beetle grubs eating old wood, the downy often listens for them. At this time of year, I suspect that the listening tactic works best during the warmth of midday when its prey would be most active.
Having heard activity and bored into the wood with its bill, the downy extends its sticky tongue to snare its prey. In this picture, the woodpecker’s tongue is the beige object extending from the short dark bill.
Soon the downy is off to scour another tree (as seen in this composite).
In all the years of enjoying the little Downies at my suet feeder or out in the woods, I have never seen its “sticky tongue”, or observed the listening behaviour with head tilted to just the right position. Thank you for this posting, Alistair, which felt like being invited into the personal life of a long-admired friend.
Denise, I have seen the listening stance before, but capturing a picture of the extended tongue was a challenge.
Lovely shots. He seems to be wearing a bib with a feathery fringe. Delicate.
Alister, I have a question, maybe out of context here. Is it early to see Turkey Vultures? I am not a specialist, but the Turkey Vulture does not flap its wings very much and his neck does not poke ahead of the wings very much. I could swear that I saw one today, here in West Creston, overlooking the flats.
Bernard, I have no particular insights into the matter other than those delivered by ebird.org. A plot of observations of the Turkey Vulture in the Central Kootenay shows them arriving in later March. But, then the Creston Flats have always been ahead of the rest of us in such matters.
