Leaving aside the flicker, which might be seen a few times a week, woodpeckers are spotted only once or twice a year. So, it was unexpected to see three different species of woodpeckers in one day. They are presented in the order seen.
This is a juvenile Pileated Woodpecker (dark eyes) that has been probing a utility pole for hibernating insects. The pileated is our largest woodpecker.
A female Northern Flicker was probing some wooden trim for insects.
There has been a woodpecker feeder on the house for nearly a decade. Its suet attracts jays, chickadees, and nuthatches, but the only woodpecker seen there had been a flicker. That was until yesterday, when our smallest woodpecker turned up: the Downy Woodpecker. The male stayed for some time and was back again this morning.
Thank you so much for the beautiful pictures! I frequently see both flickers and downy woodpeckers at & around my bird feeder but haven’t seen “Woody” for a long time…maybeI’ll be gifted with a visit later this winter if I’m very lucky.
wow!
I have had a Downy Woodpecker on my suet feeder daily for the past week. Perhaps the same one that was around last spring. I also had at least 4 flickers visiting the suet last spring but only one of them has returned.
It’s lovely to see these three at my home. I used to see Pileated guys more often than this year (one siting only). This morning it was probably a flicker tapping determinedly on my house siding. That was a first that I know of. It’s not wood and eventually he gave up. It’s time to put up the suet feeder.
Went to the Little Slocan in front of our house on Monday, chatting aloud with a helper. We had tools and a wheelbarrow and were planning a burn of dead branches and fallen trees. As we got close, we noticed a small woodpecker at hip level, paying us no attention, even though we were only a few feet away. Pretty sure it was a Black-Backed Woodpecker. It was moving around on a small dead pine, knocking off chips of bark. It had the yellow crown and dark back. We moved on and it stayed hard at work, and I was wishing I had my camera.
Lovely captures!