I heard the now familiar call of a Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) and saw a flash of white as a bird flew to a new perch high in the trees. I maneuvered about trying to get a clear visual pathway to the bird and managed to get a few shots before the bird flew away.
A moment of confusion came upon me when I looked at the photos, because my Red-headed Woodpecker did not have a red head. Was I wrong in my initial identification? The wing pattern was certainly right for a Red-headed Woodpecker and I could see some small patched on red on the mostly brown head. Only then did I realize that this was almost certainly a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker that had not yet transitioned to the trademark identifying feature of this species.
I’m including a couple of shots of the juvenile along with a shot of an adult that I took of an adult Red-headed Woodpecker earlier in the week, in case some readers are not familiar with the beautiful species of woodpecker.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Thanks for posting the photos of the juvenile and adult woodpecker, Mike, I hadn’t seen this species before – what a stunning red face!
The adults are wonderful. The red is a subdued dignified color that really goes well with black and white of the body. Unlike with most of our woodpeckers, the black and white sections are separate and not intermixed.
These birds are stunning Mike.
Thanks, Dan.
Quite a difference!
Fortunately, I was close enough that I could identify the bird. With some birds, juveniles really make identification a challenge.