I thought mullein was an unusual perch for the species but I guess Downy Woodpeckers aren’t picky about where they find their ‘bugs’.
1/6400, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed him two days ago in the Wasatch Mountains. When I first saw him on this mullein flower stalk he was much too far away for decent photos but he allowed me a close approach in my pickup. In order to avoid blocking any traffic that might come along on the dirt road I had to get a little too close so I was forced to shoot vertically in order to keep all of him in the frame.
Downy Woodpeckers are our smallest woodpecker and I think many folks are surprised by how small they really are. By weight they’re slightly smaller than a House Sparrow, 28 grams for the sparrow versus 27 grams for the woodpecker according to Sibley.
For a woodpecker they can be hard to spot.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Based on the red on his head this is a male. He was circling around the mullein stalk as he climbed vertically in his quest for insects which soon after this photo was taken ruined many of what would have been my better shots. Can any sharp eyes in the crowd spot the reason why my photos would be ruined when he climbed any higher?
There was a fence wire about half way between me and the bird and I had no choice but to shoot through it when he ascended any higher than this on the the stalk. In this photo that wire can be seen as a not quite horizontal and slightly blurry band directly above the woodpecker’s head. It’s especially noticeable as it passes through the mullein near the top of the frame.
Because the woodpecker was slowly ascending the stalk all my shots after this one were ruined by that slightly blurry wire as it passed between his head and my lens.. Drats!
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This shot, taken just before he flew to the mullein, is arguably the best photo I’ve ever taken of a Downy Woodpecker, at least technically. I believe that despite the fact that the tips of some of his stiff tail feathers are right at the bottom of the frame edge.
Over the years my luck with Downy Woodpeckers has been surprisingly bad so I was happy to get this photo, even with that slightly annoying out of focus branch at upper left.
Besides, a vertical composition of the same photo eliminates the offending blurry branch.
In the past nearly all of my photos of Downy Woodpeckers were cluttered with messy branches and twigs so a clean background like this one is highly unusual for me.
Ron
Thanks for these wonderful photos! I ave observed the Downy Woodpeckers on our mullein and have therefore been leaving them to seed but no one else I know had seen the Downy woodpeckers on them. It was a delight to see you had taken that photo.
No woodpeckers in Australia so this is a particular treat. I can’t get my head around the size (or lack of it) for this particular charmer.
And hooray for vertical crops.
Yeah, their size is a little deceiving in the field, EC. When I see one in flight they’re so small I often think they’re ‘just’ another LBJ.
Let’s hear it for vertical shots/crops! 😉 These are wonderful shots — so glad you got them!
I never realized Downy Woodpeckers were that small. Took me a few moments to wrap my head around that. I’m surprised, as I would think that such a small mass would make it difficult to do the “drilling” into the trees — not much of a counterweight. Those tail feathers must be like metal rods.
“Let’s hear it for vertical shots/crops! ”
Marty, shooting vertically can save my bacon when I’m too close but it isn’t easy to do for several reasons.
What beauties! And no, I NEVER would have seen the fence if you hadn’t pointed it out. Nit fail! LOL!
I used to have both Downeys and Hairys along with red-bellied woodpeckers gleefully mooching from multiple feeders around my place in Dallas (across the street from White Rock Lake Park). And what a delight it was to host them–beyond the lugging of multiple 50-pound bags of various bird foods part 😉
Downeys and Hairys are in the same category as Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned hawks for me. I can rarely distinguish between the two unless they’re either in hand (that happened once with a Cooper’s hawk [falconry bird] so no comparison) or side by side (that only rarely happened). It’s hard to make IDs when they’re flitting around, I can’t operate binocs properly and my old eyes take a while to focus.
BTW, a gaggle (herd/group?) of half a dozen cactus wrens just cussed me out because I lagged in dispersing the good bird food and mealworms this morning! One walked right up to me, wing tips on her hips to voice her displeasure. Good heavens! They know cuss words sailors haven’t even DREAMED of! LOL!
“Downeys and Hairys are in the same category as Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned hawks for me”
That’s me exactly, Laura. The accipiters in particular confound me.
I like the shots on the mullein, darn wire! From the red pattern on his head I’d say he is a this year hatch. He is still learning. I have become attached to them over the last few years as I have gotten to know them. The three toe is the one I can’t seem to get clear shot of.
Yes, this bird fledged this summer.
A field mark I recently learned about the Downy is black bars on the outer white tailfeathers, which show up very well in the last photos on the tree.
Yes, I believe it’s a young male, Pam. Apparently a few of the females of this age also have some red on their head but it’s very unusual.
Thanks, April. They’re easy to like.
They are little cuties, as your photos attest.
Those of us who live in their territory are lucky to have them.
Agreed, Lyle -we sure are.
Great shots of a Downy!
As much as I love birds, it should be mentioned that at least here in our back yard they seem to like to drill into new Crab Apple trees that we planted. I’ve had to replant twice! Once fooled shame on you, twice fooled shame on me. So, now we wrap the trunks in screening. Does it help? Yes. Does it solve the problem? Not yet.
At least you have them in your yard, Dick. I don’t see them in my yard since the city removed a dying maple tree from the parking strip in front of my house.
I’ve never seen one before—they look “forever young”—tiny in size, and
downy–puffy,, like a chick. Interesting and unusual post !
Thank you, Kris.
What an unusual perch! I want some of those seeds. Lol I love mullein.
Invasive or not I think mullein is pretty neat stuff.
My answer to the question is that the thing that would ruin the shot is a thistle? That photo that you say might be your best Downy is really good. So far I have never seen one here although we do show them as showing up during migrations etc. We have Hairy and Ladder-backed and of course we have more Acorn Woodpeckers than I could ever count. And thanks for the info on their size – I did not know that.
Everett, I’m jealous of all your Acorn Woodpeckers. I’ve never even seen one.
I had no idea they were that small. Very nice shots Ron!
Thanks, Jean. They’re deceptively small.
G-Morning Ron, The Downey Woodpeckers are frequent visitors to our Oriole jelly / jam feeder (we’re now on jar #34) so far this year. At 2 lbs. per jar (net)—that’s a lot of jelly! (Smuckers are the cheapest) What’s really amusing is the Downey’s hiding underneath the wood platform when the Orioles come in and sometimes sneak up and go to the opposite side to feed. Stay Healthy, Don
Wow, that’s a lot of jelly!
Downy’s are fun to watch. 🙂 We have both Downy and Hairy and, at times is a bit of a challenge to discern which one I’m looking at tho there is no question when they are together. They don’t tend to be out in the open much! Knew you’d shot “through” something for the blur…….. 😉
Judy, I see very few Hairy’s. Wish I saw more of them. Good eye for spotting the blur.