Midwest USA, March 2026
Oly E-M1 @ 275mm, f/8, 1/640s, ISO 1000
Downys are too damn cute. I was lucky enough to catch the sun in his eye.
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I love these little guys (and gals)
They make my day when I see them.
Oh very nice - are they as prone to being up too high, round the wrong side of the tree and other annoyances as what I guess are their English cousins, the Greater Spotted Woodpeckers? One from yesterday, that I’m happy to have an excuse to post (seeing as how I posted another a few days ago):
These types of woodpeckers are fascinating to me. Greater spotted, hairy, downy, red-cockaded, ladder-backed, Nuttall’s, red-naped sapsucker, and yellow-bellied sapsucker are all easy to confuse. It makes you wonder where and when on the evolutionary chain did they diverge?
If you try looking up the Latin names, families etc. you get lost in a maze of changes and alternative forms! Downy and Greater Spotted probably diverge at the Genus level, but depends on your authority!
The UK’s Lesser spotted woodpecker is in the same genus as Downy however!?!
Imagine my disappointment
I really need to set something up like this. Is it the only photo? I’m not sure that’s even a downy, ha.
It’s a Carolina Wren, a little rain soaked. It does video too, but the alert is just the species.
The device is a bird buddy. A doorbell camera on a bird feeder. Get the solar roof. Mine is right outside the window of the house so only urban birds get pictures. I get downy, hairy, red-head, pileated, and red-bellied woodpeckers at the suet feeder further out in the yard
Forgive the leaning post and tarped roof, that was right after a hurricane. Post is straight now :)
