Woodpeckers and Flickers

Yellow bellied Sapsucker

 Welcome to my second post: Woodpeckers! (And Flickers, of course) This will be a little more spacious, as I tend to focus on several species.

(And sorry for the delay, y'all. I have a lot going on. 😉)

I consider woodpeckers as the "weirdos" of the bird land. They're just so unique, and odd as well. (Note that I'm using weird as an endearing term. Which is a good term, too.)

I have seen five types of woodpeckers, but, alas, as I have not been able to take many good quality pictures, I'll be taking images from the internet.

Anyway, onto the overview(s)!

my cute little weirdo

~DOWNY WOODPECKER AND HAIRY WOODPECKER~

Where to find them: Basically everywhere in the US, including Alaska

Favorite foods: Suet, hummingbird nectar*

Will also eat: Sunflower seeds, thistle/Nyjer? 

How to identify: Speckled wings, woodpecker feet, it isn't a big problem. However, discerning them from Hairy woodpeckers is... actually not a problem.** 

*As I was saying, Downy woodpeckers (and apparently all other types of woodpeckers) like hummingbird nectar. I have a theory that it's similar to tree sap... but it's basically just sugar anyway, so that's okay. So... if you switch around feeders in the summer like I do... you won't miss 'em.

the weird actions of weirdos are rarely to be explained

**Downy woodpeckers are actually not so hard to discern from hairy woodpeckers, because the woodpecker that's come to your feeder is usually a downy woodpecker. (If you're really unsure, look at the bill of the woodpecker. If it seems to be the length of the head, then it's a Hairy woodpecker. Downy woodpeckers have short and slightly stubby bills.)

If you're really familiar with downy woodpeckers, then you will know when a hairy woodpecker comes to your feeder. It's the size, I think...

When a hairy woodpecker came (for the first time!) to my feeder the other day, I instantly knew it was a hairy woodpecker, because it was just so big. (About the size of a red bellied woodpecker, or maybe a bit larger.)

Downy woodpecker and Hairy woodpecker (And their respective bills)

Red bellied woodpecker

~RED BELLIED WOODPECKER~

Where to find them: east united states. (Boundary states: Texas, Wisconsin, Maine. You can find them inside that box.)

Favorite foods: Suet, Peanuts, hummingbird nectar

Will also eat: Sunflower seeds, Cracked corn?

How to identify: Red mow hawk. Period. (Males have the full head mow hawk, whereas females have an empty patch on the top of their head.)

The reason they're called Red Bellied woodpeckers is because there's actually a species called the red headed woodpecker, which is aptly named. 😊

The red headed woodpecker, of which I know very little about.

They also have this reddish flush on their belly that's barely visible some of the time. Which is why they're called "red bellied", because it was the only correct name for them.

With reddish flush exposed

(Yellow bellied sapsucker)

~YELLOW BELLIED SAPSUCKER~

Where to find them: Mostly east or north of North America, although some on the west coast

Favorite foods: Suet, 

Will also eat: ???

How to identify: These are not like any other woodpeckers, but they do have a dusky-yellow belly, and a red cap; males have a red chin as well.

I'm not very familiar with the Yellow bellied sapsuckers, as they've only been coming to my feeder for about three months now... but they are quite beautiful (and I would totally spend a good hour or so crooning over one. I'm that sort of person 😉 ).

(Pileated woodpecker)

~PILEATED WOODPECKER~

Where to find them: Eastern and Western US, but not in the middle*

Favorite food: Suet (Although they're extremely hard to attract. My feeder is way too small.)

Will also eat: ???

How to identify: It's not hard, because they're so unique and also very large (In woodpecker standards).

(* Not in the Rockies.)

Dang, this guy has a tongue! (They all do)

I have only seen a pileated woodpecker one time (my mom's seen two, how annoying to me 😂), so I'm really not familiar with them at all.

However, when I was looking them up on eBird (The wonderful online place to go if you like birding, like me), I noticed that there were four different worldwide pileated birds. (Pileated woodpecker, pileated parrot, pileated flycatcher, and the pileated finch. The pileated finch is the one that I really care about. You should look it up! 😉)

(Northern Flicker)

~NORTHERN FLICKER~

Where to find them: The majority of North America

Favorite food: Ants (I have never got one to come to my feeder.)

Will also eat: More ants (Basically: I don't know.)

How to identify: looks very similar to a red bellied woodpecker from far away. However (as you can see), they're speckled and are more yellow than red bellied woodpeckers. (Then comes which subspecies of Northern flicker: there are some that are yellow-shafted and such.)

(I nearly forgot to add this, and published my "finished" work before I put this on. Eeps.)

I've only seen Northern flickers from a short distance, but they love to spend time on the ground and... (you guessed it!) Eat ants! (That's what I've heard. It's like a flying anteater but cuter 😃)

The reason I'm squashing the flicker into the woodpecker highlight is that they're really similar, and that they can fit into the same category. So I'll jump at the chance! 😄

And that's basically all for my woodpecker and Flicker highlight, hope you enjoyed!

How many types of woodpeckers have you seen? Do you have any experience with woodpeckers? What's your favorite type of woodpecker? Mine is probably the Downy woodpecker. Please tell me!