May 2010 – Tillamook State Forest, Oregon
The larger cousin to the Downy Woodpecker is quite a bit more shy. I couldn’t get too close for this shot… I’ll hope for a better one some day.
Hairy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Category Archives: Woodpeckers
Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
April 2013 – Smith and Bybee Lakes, Oregon
This bird was very actively probing cracks and crevices for insects, really more like a creeper than a woodpecker. I managed to snap a few decent shots as he poked out from behind some brambles.
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
April 2013 – Sauvie Island, Oregon
Same bird, different day… a few weeks later. This tree must be pretty productive for this pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers, because they were both still there, a few weeks after my previous visit (below). Anyway, here are a couple more photos from the exact same location.
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
March 2013 – Sauvie Island, Oregon
This one was very intent on maintaining his sap tree, about 15-20ft high on the side of a tree along the trail.
Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker
June 2012 – Jackson Bottom, Hillsboro, Oregon
These Flickers were performing some kind of dance that must have been a kind of bonding/mating ritual. Each would mimic the other’s movements, in a kind of slow-motion mirror-mirror performance. Fascinating…
American Three-Toed Woodpecker
American Three-Toed Woodpecker
February 2012 – Sand Lake, WA
I was pretty excited to see this Three-Toed Woodpecker. But, he didn’t even seem to notice me. He was far more interested in ripping the bark off an old snag in search of grubs. As the name would indicate, these woodpeckers have only 3 toes per foot (other woodpeckers have 4). While these birds are widespread around the northern forests of the world, this sighting is near the southern part of their range in the western US – not a common sighting for the area. In recent years, it’s been determined that the American birds are genetically distinct from their Eurasian cousins, so the addition of “American” to the species name.
Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
This is a photo from the spring of 2006 – a pileated woodpecker allowed me to snap a few shots while he hammered away at a rotten log in Tryon Creek State Park. This was truly a rare thing to witness at such a close distance – these birds are usually more skittish. Amazingly, the 2nd such encounter for me in a 2 week span (the other was in Hillsboro).
Pileated Woodpecker
Here’s the other sighting, just 2 weeks prior to the first. This bird was hammering away on a stump, then hopped over to this nearby trunk.
White-Headed Woodpecker
White-Headed Woodpecker
March 2006 – Methow Valley, WA
I spotted this White-Headed Woodpecker while cross-country skiing in the Methow Valley in Washington. The photo isn’t the best, but it’s all I could come up with given the circumstance.