Tag Archives: nc downy woodpecker

Birding Trips and Tours North Carolina

A Downy Woodpecker at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation

While birding at the Prairie Ridge Ecostation in Raleigh, North Carolina last week, I spotted this Downy Woodpecker snacking on a Praying Mantis’s egg case.
The tiny guy paid no attention to me and was intent on extracting every last bit of insect larvae out of it’s case.
It was neat to watch him at work at such close range!



Measuring in at about 5.7 inches in length, these little dynamos are the smallest species of Woodpecker found in the United States.
They are among our most widespread species of Woodpecker too with a range that extends from southern Alaska, across Canada as well as throughout most of the rest of the United States from California to south Florida.


Here in North Carolina, Downys are a familiar year round resident in all 100 of our counties. You’re just as likely to see them foraging for a meal in our hardwood forests and brush fields as you are to catch a look at one dining on suet on your backyard feeders.
Keep an eye out for them the next time you go out 🙂

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc on the fabulous full frame @canonusa
#5Ds

Field Notes, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

Yates Mill Park birding: Downy woodpecker encounter

By: Sally Siko- Admin Birdwatching NC

While walking though the woods at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh N.C. last week, I happened to catch a glimpse of a female Downy Woodpecker foraging for food in the leaf litter.


I was surprised to see her rummaging about on the ground as I usually spot these energetic little birds winding their ways up and down tree trunks or hanging (upside down of course, lol!) from limbs.
She pecked away at the base of a tree searching for food for about 5 minutes before making her way up the trunk in the usual fashion.



North America’s smallest Woodpecker primarily feed on insects found in the trees. They are known to consume several pest species such as tent caterpillars, fall webworms, bark beetles, and even the invasive emerald ash borer.
Their diet also consists of plant material such as berries, acorns, and grains.
If you’d like to get a good look at a Downy Woodpecker for yourself, fill your feeder with black oil sunflower seeds and offer a suet cage.
Enjoy the show!

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds

Come birding with me! I’ve got a few tours scheduled for Yates Mill Park in 2020. Check out the link below for trip details and available dates.

https://birdwatchingnc.com/birdwatching-n-c-trips-birding-in-north-carolina/birding-at-yates-mill-park-trips/
Birdwatching News, Field Notes, Out There with the Expert, The Adventures of your bird watching Admin

A Downy Woodpecker at Yates Mill Park, Raleigh NC

Oh wow am I stoked! I finally captured a photo of a Downy Woodpecker right-side up while on my CBC a few weeks ago at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, N.C.


Haha, every other picture I’ve ever got with one of America’s smallest Woodpeckers shows one hanging upside down or partially hidden by the tree trunk or branches!
Am so pleased to get a lovely shot after all this time 🙂

Ya know, there is a certain advantage to being so small. Downy Woodpeckers are able to hunt for food where larger woodpeckers can’t, including on the thin branches in the upper canopy’s of trees. They are acrobatic little climbers, (as proved by every photo I’ve ever taken of them ) they can even cling upside-down like a Nuthatch or Brown Creeper.

Being opportunistic little birds, they’ll follow the Pileated Woodpeckers through the forest, taking advantage of the larger bird’s excavations and will devour any insects the Pileated might overlook.
During the cooler months, Downy Woodpeckers can be found traveling with mixed-species flocks of chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches, thereby maximizing opportunities for an easy meal.

Photos by @sally_siko of @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5Ds