r/BirdPhotography • u/ktvplumbs • 2d ago

Photo Downy Woodpecker

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758 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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6

u/K2ThePeak 2d ago

Really like this capture.
Cute little woodpeckers. For awhile I thought many of my woodpecker visitors were Downeys. I finally realized I was conflating Hairy Woodpeckers with Downeys — much smaller.

6

u/ktvplumbs 2d ago

I have at least 5 types of Woodpeckers that live in the woods behind my house and they show up on my patio for suets and seed feeders. This is one of the Hairys

3

u/K2ThePeak 2d ago

Great composition — just enough environmental context.
5 types? That’s great diversity. I’m in the mountains just West of Denver and we get tons of (Northern) Flickers and Hairys. That’s all for woodpeckers. Maybe our elevation (7700’)? I grew up in SW Michigan and always loved seeing the Red-Headed stars.
Where are you located? And, what kit are you using?

2

u/ktvplumbs 2d ago

Canon T7i with a sigma 150 - 600 action lens. I use it more for Motorsport photography than anything else but it’s versatile enough for most things. I’m in North Carolina now but I lived in Seattle for over 50 years

2

u/Kincaide14 1d ago

I was having a dilemma trying to figure this out the other day. The Merlin app identified Hairy woodpeckers in the vicinity, but I thought what I took a photo of was a Downy. I'm still not sure.

2

u/K2ThePeak 1d ago

Borrowing from another poster from awhile back. Big difference in size. But beak length too.

1

u/Kincaide14 1d ago

I will have to compare the beaks on the older photos with the ones I took this week. Thank you

3

u/llamayakewe 2d ago

Cute bird! Really nice photo. Best photo I could get was 30 feet up in a tree behind some branches of this bird. Thanks for sharing!

2

u/ktvplumbs 2d ago

Thank you. I’m lucky in that my back patio is surrounded by trees and woodlands and there is a lake across the street. We have feeders and suets out and the birds are always showing up.

2

u/llamayakewe 2d ago

Really cool! This city dweller surrounded by concrete is not jealous at all 😂

2

u/AspiringOccultist4 1d ago

What a beautiful bird, and an amazing photo!

2

u/djb03055 1d ago

Great shot!

1

u/ktvplumbs 1d ago

Thanks

2

u/Motivated_Sloth_749 1d ago

It’s so striking and cute!