This time of year we get a lot of woodpeckers visiting the suet feeders.
The female downy woodpecker identical to the hairy woodpecker, except for its size and the length of the bill. The downy has a short stubby beak in comparison to its body size. Males sport a flashy red patch on their hind crowns.
Look at those fluffy white upper back feathers!
After all that posing she hopped down onto the feeder to find a friend on the other side.
Two female downy woodpeckers eating …
and meeting …
and greeting …
Do you have a favorite woodpecker?
in cahoots with muddy boots 
I don’t have a favorite because I haven’t seen enough varieties to vote but these are adorable and their wings remind me of large moths patterns. Have a great weekend, Sabine!
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Hey Trudy, I like your comparison to the patterns of the wings of moths. I hadn’t thought of that! Have a great weekend too Trudy! 🙋
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The one seems so young. Amazing!
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That’s what I thought too Cindy! That may have been the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. Every little feather seemed perfectly in place! Thanks for always reading! 🙂
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The ladies are having a kaffe klatch at the feeder. 😉 I’ve never seen a woodpecker close enough to tell what one looks like so these photos are very impressive and informative for me. Just incredible!
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Yes Marlene, Kaffeeklatsch is about right! This was such a fun moment to be there when they came into the yard. I hope you had a good Saturday! 😉
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I’ll send you a note later.
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👍
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Sabine, you get the best shots! It’s been fun to watch the critters and creatures in our neighborhood recently. Their patterns are different in winter than summer. I guess, so are ours. Have a great weekend!
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Thank you Missy! You’re right on how their patterns change with the seasons. I’m sure these little guys are in your area too. Have a good weekend too!
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They are! In fact I got a few pics of one yesterday when we were walking Isabella at the park. All the birds were enjoying the mild winter day.
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They are very beautiful birds, Sabine! 🙂 They are residing our neighbor’s house now, and it’s a good thing; woodpeckers drilled holes in the wood siding! Now they are putting up synthetic siding.
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We have some that attack our shake roof during the mating season! It echoes throughout the entire house. But mostly they stay out in the forest. 😉
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They are stunning birds when you see them close-up. Or for that matter, from far away! We always stop to watch when our bird feeder is visited by a greater spotted, or there is a green woodpecker hopping along the lawn. We have plenty of ants to keep them busy!
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My apologies for being so behind Sabine – one time I saw a red-bellied woodpecker at Council Point Park and I was ecstatic because I’d heard them rat-a-tat-tatting away for ages, but they would hide up high where I could not see them. But this one was busy drilling a hole in a very dead tree – I got a good luck at it. Your downy woodpecker (and friend) were very cute and how nice of this little lady to pose for you so we could see her striking plumage.
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You’re not alone in being behind. We all have lives to live away from the screen, birds to watch and squirrels to feed! 😉 We had a red-bellied sapsucker visit a few times. I’ll have to see if they are similar. 😊
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You are right of course Sabine. When the weather is cooperative, out I go to enjoy nature and escape the computer – I spend too many hours parked in front of it. I had stayed fairly current and I know that marathon walking-and picture-taking session was which originally made me behind. My boss is getting ready to leave on vacation for a week and I was enjoying a one-hour respite from work, and came over here to catch up and he just gave me something to do. I am looking forward to HIS vacation, more than he is to be honest with you. 🙂
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Enjoy your bosses vacation Linda! 😉
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I sure will Sabine – I am hoping no rushes come in that will have him on the computer back-and-forth with me as that happens as well. I am hoping I only need to check e-mail and voicemail on the work days and that is it!
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My fingers are crossed for you! 😉
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Happy happy Sabine – the Appeal decision did NOT arrive in today’s mail and he left and I am all caught up. I don’t want to fritter my time away – I just have to check his e-mail and voicemail which is not a big deal as I am online so many hours anyway – I need to put some organization into my life and hope this next ten days I can do just that. 🙂
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