Three-woodpecker day

 

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.

 

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6 Responses to Three-woodpecker day

  1. Ann Godderis says:

    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.

  2. Jean Simpson says:

    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.

  3. Christine Boyd says:

    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.

  4. Vicki says:

    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.

  5. Rebecca Schram says:

    Lovely captures!

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