Thursday, January 29, 2015

Winter woodpeckers and such

There's quite a variety of woodpeckers in Central Park this winter. To start with, there's a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers, who I've mostly seen in the Ramble between the Gill and the Ramble Arch. The male is an exceptionally fine-looking bird.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Hairy Woodpecker, Central Park
hello, handsome!

Isn't that a good-looking bird?

The hairy's smaller cousins, Downy Woodpeckers, have been all over the place.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Downy Woodpecker, Central Park
ohsocute!

A few Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are overwintering, which I don't think I've seen in Central Park before. I'm told they're fairly common at this latitude in winter, however.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, Central Park
just hanging out

The ones I've seen on my morning walks like to hang motionless off trees. i think they're waiting for sun to warm up the sap.

There are quite a number of Red-Bellied Woodpeckers around. This one likes to stash food in the posts of Laupot Bridge.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Central Park
clever bird

The White-Breasted Nuthatch isn't a woodpecker, but they also stash food in odd places. They're a little more secretive about it, though.

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; White-Breasted Nuthatch, Central Park
waiting for me to go away

No comments:

Post a Comment