Yes, I do know this is a woodpecker. I’m also pretty sure it’s a juvenile – I took these photos in late October. But what I don’t know if this little bird is a downy or a hairy woodpecker, as I have both in my yard.
The bottom three pictures are the same bird, that much I know. Do I have two species here or one? Oh, Kevin…-:)
If my readers would be so kind as to leave their ideas in the comments, I would appreciate it. I do so hate leaving any photos in the miscellaneous file!
Female Downy Woodpecker. I love seeing them at the suet and peanut feeder. You are lucky to have Hairy Woodpeckers as well. I would love to see a Hairy at my feeders.
Your Son! 🙂
That’s a beautiful downy woodpecker you’ve captured there.
The bill would be proportionally much longer relative to the size of the head if it was a hairy woodpecker.
Lovely pics!
I agree with female Downy, the hairy’s bill is much larger when compared to head size. side by side the hairy is larger but overall size is tough without the 2 birds together
dan
My guess is downy – Hairy is larger – but I can’t really tell. She sure is a cutie!
My guess is a female Downy Woodpecker. Cornell says they have shorter bills than the hairy woodpecker. See the comparison at the bottom of this page:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hairy_Woodpecker/id
I know you mentioned this is a juvenile, but even so it seems very small/compact/short-billed … much more like the cute little Downy than the larger elegant Hairy. We get them both here, and much as I love the visits from the Hairy, the Downy does steal the show for me. 🙂