WOODPECKER “KINDERGARTEN”

Downy Woodpeckers

It’s hard to keep track about all the activities going on these days in our woods. However, we can’t overlook the feeding of the woodpeckers because it happens right in front of the house. Our smallest ones, the Downy Woodpeckers, have at least two juveniles to feed. The young male on the left gets stuffed with some peanut suet from its mother. They do not hang out here all day long but in the mornings and evenings a seed or nut snack seems to be a very welcome addition to the protein rich food of insects or caterpillars.

Hairy Woodpecker

The much bigger Hairy Woodpeckers have at least two young ones. Their offspring seems to be a little more independent already. The juveniles take mostly care for themselves but are still closely watched by the parents. They have already the same size as the adults but still move a bit clumsy when they go up or down on a tree trunk.

DOWNY / HAIRY - SIZE MATTERS

Hairy Woodpecker

They almost look alike from the distance, the Downy Woodpecker and its cousin the Hairy Woodpecker, but body size and length of their bill make it easy to distinguish one from the other species. Also their calls and vocal expressions are different. We have about seven or eight Downies here during the winter but only two of the larger Hairys. Their behavior during an approach couldn’t be more different. While I can walk up to a Downy Woodpecker feeding on a block of suet, the bird will eventually fly away when I’m within a 3 feet distance. The Hairy Woodpeckers in comparison are extremely skittish. As soon they detect a slight movement or noise, i.e. from opening the door, even 30 feet away, they will take off and fly into the trees. And that makes the photography of the larger woodpecker a much bigger challenge.

Downy Woodpecker

Both pictures were shot from an open window today. The Hairy Woodpecker flew away when I opened it, but finally returned back to “woodpecker tree #1” in the front yard after five minutes. Getting the shot of the smaller Downy was easy. They patiently wait in line when a larger woodpecker is at a feeder or they jockey with each other for the right to feed first.

The photos today give you an idea about their different body sizes. Both were shot from the same distance and are cropped to identical size. The dominant knot on the tree is the same in both pictures and helps to evaluate.

WOODPECKER AND WHITE BALANCE

Hairy Woodpecker

Every morning several woodpeckers still try to get a snack from our feeders near the house. With four different species you never know who will be the first one. It was the warm light this morning that caught my attention while getting ready for the day. The Hairy Woodpeckers are usually the most skittish ones and I’m always happy if I get a sharp image of one of them.

This was all not very difficult today, the woodpecker moved around while I opened the window carefully, but didn’t fly away and gave me some time to make a few clicks in the first sunlight that hit our woods. However, a mistake was made that needed some correction in post process at the computer. I simply forgot to reset the white balance in the D750 from my last shooting. I had it still at 7400 Kelvin, a setting I use quite often during sunsets when there is some red or orange in the sky. The light was definitely warm but by far not that warm. I hardly ever correct white balance or colors in my wildlife photography but what I saw on the screen was not what I saw this morning. After correcting to “cloudy WB” (6500 K) in Adobe Lightroom, the photo reflects much better how the light had unfold early on this Friday.

Mistakes are good for one thing, they can teach us a lesson for the next time we try to make a new photo. A little nuance in light temperature can make a difference how we tell the story about our wildlife encounters. Sure, we can always “fiddle” at the computer but I still believe in the craft of photography, means get it right in camera.

COMPETITION

Male Hairy Woodpecker

Four of the seven woodpecker species we find here in the woods above the Little Maquoketa River Valley are regular visitors to our bird feeders. At times with lots of snow and very cold temperatures, as we have right now, the competition over the food and feeding times is always on.

Female Northern Flicker

Size matters and if a Northern Flicker with its long bill wants to eat, everybody else has to wait in line. We count at least four different flickers.

The Hairy Woodpeckers do not visit as often as the other species and they are the most difficult ones to photograph. They are high in the ranks with their long bill and they can be very vocal. We see at least one pair and an immature bird.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Since we live here up on the bluffs the Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been a pleasure to watch every year. They may argue with a Hairy Woodpecker about the best spots, because they are similar in size, but if a flicker wants to feed, they go back to a waiting position. We see two adults and a couple immature red-bellies, who were born last year.

Male Downy Woodpecker

The smallest one of the bunch is the Downy Woodpecker. They look very similar to a Hairy Woodpecker but they are much smaller in size. As you can imagine the downys always have to leave a suet feeder if one of the bigger birds decides to eat. They are the first ones in the morning and still feed when all the other woodpeckers are gone at dusk. Usually we see 5-6 birds at the same time around the house but a week ago, when we received the first big snow of the season, we counted 10 different Downy Woodpeckers, which is a new record this year.

WOODPECKER COMPETITION

Red-headed Woodpecker ------

There is enough food for everybody available but today the woodpeckers acted like there was no tomorrow. It seems the “new kid on the block”, the Red-headed Woodpecker who hangs around here since a few days, wants to establish a dominance over all his cousins.

Hairy Woodpecker

Two Hairy Woodpeckers are permanent residents on our bluffs here and usually nobody messes with their long and sharp bill. They are about the same size as the red-headed but even they went out of its way.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

Four Red-bellied Woodpeckers are part of the gang and can be very expressive and vocal if they dislike something. However, especially the younger birds, like this female, have been chased today by the red-headed “bully”.

Downy Woodpecker

The seven or eight Downy Woodpeckers are the cool girls and boys in our woods. They are much smaller in size and wouldn’t have any chance in a fight with their cousins. They stay away from the chase and come only to our feeders when the bigger guys need a break.