is that a downy?

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I'm often asked, "How do you tell a downy woodpecker from a hairy?"

It's tricky. The hairy is overall larger but unless they are side by side, size is hard to judge from a distance.

The petite downy is also more people friendly, more often seen in suburbia and backyards; they seem to come to the feeders more readily. I see hairy woodpeckers more often in the woods.

But the real field marking to look for is bill length: the downy's is dainty, the hairy's heavy and it's as long as its head is wide.

In these two photos, can you tell which is which?




My question is: Since they both can occur in the same forest, each must have a special niche. How do they coexist?

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downy dive

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Sometimes, the second shot proves to be most interesting.

A split instant after I took the first exposure of the downy woodpecker, I squeezed off another just as the small bird leaped from its perch, diving to another tree. Head first. Wings tucked. Like Olympian Greg Louganis, diving into open air off a ten meter tower.

Even though his dive took him out of my photographic depth of field, it still shows his perfect form. I'll give him at 10.

Oh to be a bird.

- Photo taken at Ijams Nature Center

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reveille to spring

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"Passing through the woods on some clear, still morning in March, while the metallic ring and tension of winter are still in the earth and air, the silence is suddenly broken by long, resonant hammering upon a dry limb or stub. It is a Downy beating a reveille to spring. In the utter stillness and amid the rigid forms we listen with pleasure; and, as it comes to my ear oftener at this season than at any other, I freely exonerate the author of it from the imputation of any gastronomic motives, and credit him with a genuine musical performance."

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, oh my.

- From "Wake-Robin" first published in 1871 by John Burroughs

- Photo taken at Ijams Nature Center

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downy nest VIII

I have not posted news of the downy woodpecker nest in awhile. (See May 1 posting.) Caught up in work, I didn’t seem to be home at the right time to observe the site; or it was raining when I was. When I did find an opportunity to sit and watch, I saw no activity. This went on for days. Dispirited, I decided the nest had failed and the pair of downies had gone on with their lives.

But I was wrong. The adults are still taking turns with the clutch; their exchanges are quick, drawing little attention to the nest.

By now, the eggs should have hatched, and the attending parent is protecting the young. I’d love to peek into the cavity, but that’s impossible. I have little to no gibbon blood in me. Photography has also gotten more difficult because now that the trees have leafed out, the location is in deep shade most of the day.

I did manage to get one photo—albeit a bit blurry—of the female downy bursting out of the nest hole. She pops out like a black-and-white Pez to swiftly fly away.

downy nest VII

Downy woodpeckers incubate their eggs about 12 days. (See April 17 posting.) The female and male take turns, exchanging places every 30 minutes to an hour, all day long. The surprise is that it’s the male that stays in the cavity on the eggs all night. The female roosts elsewhere, arriving at the nest at daylight to take her first turn.

It’s been quiet at the nest site the past several days, just one bird quickly coming and the other going, but the activity level should pick up soon as the parents start feeding their brood.

downy nest VI

At first glance, all seems quiet around the downy woodpecker nest site, just a round hole in a tree. (See April 7 posting) But occasionally, if you are patient enough to wait, you notice a little woodpecker face peek out of the opening albeit briefly. The activity has become more secretive.

Gary Ritchison writes, “Typically, females lay one egg per day, early in the morning, and eggs in a clutch are laid on successive days. Complete clutches usually consist of five eggs but may contain from three to eight.” (Eight!! I hope the little male created a big enough nursery.)

“In some species, and perhaps in downy woodpeckers as well, female age also has an effect on clutch size, with younger females laying fewer eggs than older ones.” (Let’s hear it for the seniors!) “Although it is not always clear why older females produce larger clutches, one possibility is that older, more experienced females are better foragers and therefore are in better condition” i.e. healthier moms produce more eggs.

downy nest V

Work on the downy woodpecker nest seems to be completed. (See April 3 posting.) The male did most of the excavation with the female making periodic inspections. She seemed more interested in his choice of location than the actual cavity itself. She often flies to the hole, perching just below it. She then looks around in all directions, carefully and, it seems, thoughtfully.

Once she commits and lays her eggs, there's no way to relocate.

The chickadees are still interested in the nest hole but they’re chased away if they get close. For the past two days the most noticeable behavior has been the downies' frequent mating. (Again, I would have averted my eyes to give them a private moment but it was hard not to notice their copulatory zeal.)

Downy expert Gary Ritchison reports that the repeated couplings strengthen the pair-bond and insures successful fertilization. Egg-laying can begin anytime from one to ten days after the nest cavity is completed.

Now we wait.

downy nest IV

The male downy woodpecker continued work inside the nest cavity (See March 30 posting) but I didn’t see the female that often. According to Gary Ritchison, she may be away working on a second nest hole. Downy pairs are different. In some, the male does most of the hole excavation; in others, it’s the female. At times they work on separate sites and both try to persuade the other that theirs is the best location.

We know that my pair is committed to each other because they have been observed mating. (I would have averted my eyes, but it happened so fast, there was no time to avert.)

Ritchison reports in his book Downy Woodpecker (one of the Wild Bird Guide series) that if neither convinces the other that their nest cavity is superior, the couple may abandon both to prepare a third.

Time will tell. The chickadees are still lingering about watching the progress of his work and will quickly move in should there be an opportunity.

downy nest III

At first, the downy woodpecker excavation site seemed abandoned. (See postings dated March 25 and 21.) Could yesterday’s rain have scared the nesters away? No downies. No chickadees. Just a hole in a tree about 20-feet above the ground. But then I noticed a soft, muffled tapping.

Tappy, tap, tap. Tappy, tap, tap.

When the tapping stopped, the male downy’s head popped up out of the hole. He had been completely hidden inside the tree cavity. Working.

He looked around for a long time and when he realized there was no danger about, he started to lift debris out of his work site. Only his head appeared, sticking out of the hole, bill full of wood. He’d shake and the shavings and sawdust would fly out of his mouth to float away in the breeze. After which, he’d disappear back into the tree's interior.

Tappy, tap, tap. Tappy, tap, tap. He continued his work.

downy nest II

The activity at the downy woodpecker nest excavation site has continued. (See March 21 posting) For the past two days, a female downy has taken turns with the male to work on increasing the depth of the cavity. It’s slow work; they remove wood bits, one bill full at a time and unlike other woodpeckers, downies have rather small bills. (Most woodpecker species have prodigious bills, that’s what puts the peck, peck, peck, in woodpecker.)

But the action doesn’t stop there. In real estate, a good location is hard to find. Ever so often, both downies disappear, perhaps they are working on a second, back-up nest hole elsewhere. When they are gone, a pair of Carolina chickadees slip in to work on the hole for themselves. They also carry out bits of wood in their bills, and chickadees have even smaller bills. The chickadee will hop to a nearby branch, shake its head and sawdust will fly out. The tediousness of this work is worth noting; mind-boggling tediousness!

When one of the downies returns, the chickadees are chased away. This HAS gotten interesting.

downy nest

It’s difficult for me to imagine digging a hole in the side of a tree with my mouth. I have enough trouble dissecting an ear of corn, but to drill a perfectly round hole just big enough to slip my entire body into, that’s a remarkable feat.

A male downy woodpecker spent several hours today working on a nest hole very close to my suet feeder. He’s setting up a territory; and after the excavation of the nest cavity, he’ll attempt to attract the attention of a female. He’ll drum, call, fluff up his feathers, that sort of thing; strut his stuff. You know how guys are. If a female notices the suet feeder, she may realize he has also chosen an excellent piece of real estate.

It’s hard to determine if this is a first-time nester or an older bird. This early in the season is an indication that it’s an older male. (Older downies nest earlier.) If it is an older male, he will more than likely renew his pair-bond with last year’s mate, providing she survived the winter. They have a shared history, a familiarity that will prove beneficial in raising a family. It's a long process that requires teamwork, at least with downies. (Female hummingbirds raise their broods alone.)

If the male downy attracts a mate, this could get interesting.