Woodpeckers

Lewis' Woodpecker

Lewis' Woodpeckers sometimes winter in the mountains around where I live. This year there are lots more than usual, at least my impression. I photographed this one at Silverwood Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California. I love their glossy green/black backs, pink fronts, and red face. 10/9/17 Judith Sparhawk

Lewis' Woodpecker 2

This woodpecker was photographed at Silverwood Lake, in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California.

Lewis' Woodpecker 3

This Lewis' Woodpecker was photographed at Silverwood Lake, San Bernardino Mountains, southern California. This view shows the gray band around the back of the neck, as well as the pink breast and red face.

Acorn Woodpecker

This woodpecker was photographed at Cave Creek Ranch, Portal, Arizona.

Ladderback Woodpecker ~ This female Ladderback Woodpecker was photographed at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve in Southern California.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

This woodpecker was photographed at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park in Key West, Florida.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

As these birds don't live in California, I was very excited to see my first ones. Then I found out that in Florida, where I was birding, they are EVERYWHERE! At least I was able to get a few shots of them, such a treat.

Ladderback Woodpecker ~ This bird was photographed at the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve in the desert near Joshua Tree National Park.

Acorn Woodpecker ~ This Acorn Woodpecker was photographed in Ash Canyon, in the Huachuca Mountains in Southeast Arizona. He was nibbling on peanut butter at a feeder.

Ladderback Woodpecker ~ Photograph taken at Ash Canyon, Huachuca Mountains, Southeast Arizona.

Nuttall's Woodpecker ~ This female woodpecker was photographed by Covington Park in Morongo Valley, California. The male would have a bright red patch on the head. The Ladderback Woodpecker is more common in this desert environment. This may be a hybrid between the two species.

Nuttall's/Ladderback Woodpecker ~ This female woodpecker appears to be a possible hybrid between the two species. This pose looks strange, as she was launching off the tree trunk, but didn't have her wings open yet. She was photographed near Covington Park in Morongo Valley, California.

Pileated Woodpecker ~ This Pileated flew and perched on this branch about 15 feet away, and stayed long enough for a couple of photos.

Pileated Woodpecker

~ This 18 inch tall woodpecker was photographed in the forested area above the Sascatchewan River in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has great golden eyes, the red crest, and large white patches on his wings, which show in flight.

Pileated Woodpecker ~ During a visit to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, I hiked into the forested area along the Saskatchewan River. I was excited to find a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers, which I never get to see at home. This one didn't seem to mind my presence, and I took many photographs.

Red-breasted Sapsucker ~ This sapsucker was the most common woodpecker-type bird that I saw this August on the east side of the Sierras. I had never been able to photograph them before, so this was a real treat.

At the Sap Wells ~ This Red-breasted Sapsucker was perched at the sap wells in this tree at Convict Lake, north of Bishop, California. It seemed very intent on sipping sap (or I guess it is sucking sap) at the wells, and was unconcerned about my being there. This allowed for several photographs.

Gila Woodpecker ~ This is the most common (and noisiest) woodpecker in southeastern Arizona. This one was photographed in Patagonia, in the Patton's yard.

Arizona Woodpecker ~ This woodpecker was photographed in Madera Canyon, in Arizona, in June, 2011

Male Nuttall's Woodpecker ~ This male Nuttall's had been in the nest, presumably feeding his young. He kept peeking out, waiting for the female to return to the nest, seemingly defending and protecting the nest. The female made all the noise and commotion when an Acorn Woodpecker came boldy nosing around the nest site.

The Masked Bandit ~ This Acorn Woodpecker flew into the tree while I was photographing a pair of nesting Nuttall's Woodpeckers at their nest. He was nosing around, causing the Nuttall's to sound the alarm and make a lot of noisy commotion for several minutes, until the Acorn finally flew away.

Nuttall's Woodpecker Digging Out Nest Hole ~ It's hard work making a nest hole in a tree. As I watched this woodpecker working on his future home, he had to go deeper and deeper to pull out the wood chips or "sawdust".

Male Nuttall's Woodpecker at the Nest Hole ~ At a local park today I found a male Nuttall's Woodpecker working on digging out a nest hole in a tree. I will check again later, hoping he finds a mate and raises a family.

Nuttall's Woodpecker at Nest Hole ~