You call this January? I arrived back in Laramie expecting to find sub-freezing temperatures and winter landscapes a harsh reality after my beachy getaway, but today the temperature reached nearly 50 degrees. Hardly skiing or snowshoeing weather. So, I took a walk around town, which was very quiet for the holiday Monday.
On a few different cottonwood trees, I saw downy woodpeckers, Picoides pubescens. These tiny woodpeckers--the smallest in North America--have decided to stay in town for the winter along with the crows, pigeons and the English house sparrows. I also often see their distant cousins hairy woodpeckers both in town and in the nearby woods. Hairy woodpeckers are larger, with a longer beak, but they have almost identical coloring, black and white with a red patch on the head of the males.
The downy woodpecker is difficult to get a good picture of because he is always busy. He flits and flutters and pecks and bobs and just refuses to hold still. But he is a pretty little guy, showing lovely white spots on his wings when he lets you get close enough.
I can't help but have a fondness for these birds, since they are kind enough to visit my yard year round and entertain me with their insistent drumming. They are the most common North American woodpecker, but being widespread doesn't make them any less lovely.
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