![]() ![]() The easiest way to tell female downy woodpeckers from males is to look out for a red spot on the back of the head. If you have a backyard bird feeder, you might well be visited by these birds, especially if you put out suet. These busy birds are common in a variety of woody habitats and are no strangers to backyards.ĭowny woodpeckers do not migrate, so you can see them throughout the year in suitable habitats. The downy woodpecker ( Dryobates pubescens) is the smallest of the North American woodpeckers and can be seen across most of the United States and Canada. So please accept my apologies and enjoy the Dark-Eyed Junco next time you spot one in your binoculars.Can female downy woodpeckers raise young alone? I slipped up by not thoroughly looking through my field guide and not thinking through the Junco sub-species. I know, to the non-birder person, it doesn’t sound like a big deal – but it is! It would be like calling a Jeep a Subaru. ![]() Our Juncos here up north are Dark-Eyed, not Yellow-Eyed. I got called out on that by an Audubon friend of mine from Flagstaff. Last month I stated that Bill and Corrine had a nest of Yellow-Eyed Juncos. It has a greenish-black back and a pinkish-salmon colored belly – if you see one of those here in Munds Park, please let me know.įinally, I have an “oops” to report. The only time I’ve seen it in up north has been on the NAU campus walking from the parking lot to a meeting on a cold winter day. Both are found through the United States, while the Acorn Woodpecker is found in a very limited area.Īctually there is one other woodpecker we should be able to spot in Northern Arizona – the Lewis Woodpecker. The Downy has a small, dainty bill, while the Hairy has a longer, chisel-like beak. ![]() They are very similar in appearance, but the Downy is much smaller – about seven inches long compared to the Hairy, which is about 10 inches long. Someone new to birding, and even old pros, find that it is hard to distinguish between a Hairy and a Downy. The two birds – probably male and female – quickly came and went. In Munds Park I first saw a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers this spring off our back deck. Because it is so small and can forage in small spaces among trees and their limbs, it uses food sources in its natural habitat that larger woodpeckers do not. The Downy Woodpecker has a black back with a broad white patch down the center, a white checker-board pattern on its wings, a white belly, and a small red spot on its crown. We don’t see them too often in Munds Park – but now and then I spot one on our property. This little bird, about seven inches in length, is common throughout the United States and a welcome sight with its bright red cap on a wintry white day. The second black and white bird with some red on its head is the Downy Woodpecker. These birds would be a real “find” for visitors from the Midwest or East because they only inhabit parts of the Southwest and California. The species has a clownish, comical face, with a bright red cap and a face that has a distinct white eye ring and black-white pattern. Their breeding behavior is quite unique – multiple males and females combine their efforts to raise young in a single nest. Acorn Woodpeckers live in year-round social units and depend on groups to build up and defend their stored supplies of acorns and insects. This bird’s back is mostly black, but when it flies from tree to tree or across your property, you can see the white under parts of its wings and belly. The Acorn Woodpecker is most prevalent here. These three species have black/white/red coloring, but they are distinctly different in other ways. So I thanked him for his interest and his suggestion, and that’s why we are going to discuss woodpeckers in Munds Park. One Friday night this summer I was sitting at a table in the Pinewood Country Club bar waiting for karaoke to begin and a member came up to me and said “Why don’t you write about the three woodpeckers we have here? We see the Acorn, Hairy, and Downy Woodpeckers all the time on our property”. ![]() Downy Woodpecker Courtesy of Gordon Karre ![]()
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