Woodpeckers are amazingly industrious. They repeatedly hammer their heads against trees, with seemingly a low success rate. Yesterday, though, this male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) was successful in capturing an insect at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and paused for a moment to show it to me.
Downy Woodpeckers are the smallest woodpeckers in my area and are the species that I see most often. In addition to pecking away at trees, I have also seen them search for insects in cattails and in other vegetation. It is easy to distinguish a male Downy Woodpecker from a female, because males have a bright red patch on the back of their heads, a feature that you can just see in this photo.
Downy Woodpeckers are usually very energetic. I spotted this woodpecker as he was spiraling his way up the tree. I prepared myself when he disappeared behind the trunk and was able to anticipate where he would reappear. I really like the angle of view of this shot that allows us to see the bird’s sharp claws and intense eyes. Downy Woodpeckers always seem to be intensely focused on what they are doing and it was wonderful to see this one’s efforts rewarded with a nice little treat.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
This is an exquisite photo, Michael. Zooming in I could see the insect’s (spider?) legs were red, matching the crest color. Nice seeing his feet, too, as you said.
Thanks, Jet. I too think that it may be a spider, but I couldn’t see enough of its body to be sure.
Woodpeckers are so fascinating to observe.
Great Downy photographs!
Thanks, Wally.
Woodpeckers are so fascinating to observe.
Great Downy photographs!
Beautiful post 🖊️
Excellent capture of the woodpecker with his prey, Mike!
Thanks, Ellen.
Yum!