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Posts Tagged ‘male Downy Woodpecker’

Out on a limb

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on December 20, 2022| 1 Comment »

I am not sure what this male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) saw on the tiny branch on which he was perched, but he was examining the tip of the branch closely when I captured the first image last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Gradually the little bird shimmied his way along the branch and pecked off the little branchlet near the end of the branch. I am not sure he found any insects there, but it seemed to make the perch in the final photo a bit more comfortable.

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Downy Woodpecker

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on December 9, 2022| 4 Comments »

Most of the time when I see (or hear) a woodpecker hammering away at a tree, I can’t actually see the results of its work. Yesterday, however, I managed to capture this shot of a male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge that shows the hole being probed by the little woodpecker. There is a bit of wood in the woodpecker’s beak, but as far as I could tell, he was not successful in locating any tasty insects.

How do I know that his woodpecker is a male? Only male Downy Woodpeckers have the small red patch on the back of their heads that you can see in this photo.

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Woodpecker and seedpods

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 9, 2020| 10 Comments »

I was delighted to spot this male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as it acrobatically pecked away at some seedpods hanging high in the trees. Fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford commented on a Facebook posting that that the seed pods look like trumpet vine (Campsis radicans). Check out his 2011 blog posting entitled Trumpet vine fruit and seeds for more details on this plant.

Downy Woodpeckers are the smallest woodpeckers in our area, about 6 inches long (15 cm), and the lightest, about one ounce (28 g). Still, it was a bit surprising the way that the woodpecker was hanging on the seedpod as it hammered away at it.

During warmer weather Downy Woodpeckers eat mostly insects, but it looked to me like this one was trying to extract seeds from the pods. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “About a quarter of their diet consists of plant material, particularly berries, acorns, and grains.” Whatever the case, this woodpecker appeared to be determined and focused on his task.

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Focused Downy Woodpecker

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 25, 2020| 15 Comments »

Getting an unobstructed shot of small birds is frequently impossible, so I often have to twist, turn, and bend in order to get a clear shot of at least the bird’s head. That certainly was the case with this focused male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

If you look closely at the web of branches that surround and frame this woodpecker, you may notice that they are at varying degrees of sharpness, with some of them closer to the bird and some closer to me. My task was to find a visual tunnel through the branches that would somehow make them as undistracting as possible, even when they run right across the body of the main subject. Of course, the challenge is even greater with a subject like a Down Woodpecker that is hyperactive and in almost constant motion.

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Downy Woodpecker in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2018| 4 Comments »

Downy Woodpeckers (Dryobates pubescens) are the smallest woodpeckers in North America.  They more than make up for their lack of size, however, with their inexhaustible energy. Their constant motion makes them fun to watch, but a challenge to photograph.

I spotted this male Downy Woodpecker earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. How do I know that it is a male? The males of this species have a little patch of red on the back of their heads and in each of these photos you get a small peek at the red on the head.

 

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Downy Woodpecker and seed pod

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 4, 2018| 9 Comments »

I am always struck by the amazing energy and tenacity of Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens), like this male that I spotted on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as he pecked away at a seed pod. I was worried that his weight would pull down the seed pod, but I guess that he is pretty light and the pod seemed to be firmly attached to the tree,

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Pecking away in February

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 15, 2017| 5 Comments »

It is hard to believe that there could possibly be any insects or other nourishment in the dried-up reeds and cattails, but this male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) was feverishly pecking away this past Monday at Huntley Meadows Park. He was extremely focused and persistent—I hope that his efforts were eventually rewarded.

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Downy Woodpecker in action

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on January 10, 2016| 11 Comments »

If I were a woodpecker, I think that I would want to be a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens). These energetic little birds will sometimes peck away at the relatively soft stalks of reeds and cattails, rather than at the harder tree trunks of full-sized trees.

I recently captured some shots of a Downy Woodpecker in action. I was amazed that it was able to peck away at the stalk on which it was perched without losing its balance or knocking itself off of the perch. Of course, its vigorous movements made it a bit difficult to photograph, but I was persistent and managed to get some decent shots.

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

peck3_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Focused on 2016

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on January 3, 2016| 4 Comments »

How focused are you as you begin 2016? This little male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) seemed to be totally focused as he foraged for food yesterday in the vegetation of Huntley Meadows Park.

As for me, I’m easing my way into the new year and have not yet thought seriously about goals and plans and certainly have not made (or broken) any resolutions.

downy woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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High in the trees

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 1, 2014| 10 Comments »

I admire the boundless energy of Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens). This weekend I watched as this male Downy Woodpecker climbed higher and higher in a tree, pecking along the way, until he ran out of branches.

He turned his body and looked up at a nearby tree and paused, which gave me a chance to get this shot of his downy white abdomen. There is a kind of tension in his position that I really like, as he clutches the branch and focuses intently on his next destination.

Downy Woodpecker

This second shot, which was taken before the first one, shows the Downy Woodpecker in a more conventional pose. He was inching his way up to the end of the branch and I was wondering what he would do next.

One thing that learned from this mini-shoot is that it is tough to hold a lens this heavy overhead for an extended period of time. I haven’t weighed the camera/lens combination, but the lens alone weights 4.3 pounds (1.95 kg).

I may have to start lifting weights to build up my arm and shoulder muscles

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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