Monday, January 3, 2011

A Male Hairy Woodpecker of The Vermilon River. A Post to My World Tuesday.





Not to be confused with the Downey, the Hairy Woodpecker is larger; has a beak almost the size of his head, and white tail feathers. A female is identical, only lacking the red patch of the male Hairy Woodpecker.

An amazingly efficient bird that overwinters here, it can be seen in the forest, or at the suet bird feeder. I say efficient because as the pictures show the bird is relentless in his search of prey. As well he is especially adapted to it. The beak is as long as his head, but even more remarkable, is his tongue which is barbed, and spear like. Amazingly long, it, in fact, is coiled around his eye sockets, and shoots down the hole he has made in the tree to extract the larvae.

The best source of information is: Life Histories of North American Birds @ http://birdsbybent.com/ch71-81hairywp.html.

A Post to My world Tuesday. For more sites click here: http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/
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42 comments:

  1. Dejemonos sorprenderJanuary 3, 2011 at 12:38 PM

    Hi! beautiful pictures.. interesting bird..
    Greetings..

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  2. Kay L. DaviesJanuary 3, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    Fascinating about his ability to feed himself in the winter. I was thinking he looked very determined (in the last two shots) but had no idea he is so specially evolved. Wonderful.
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  3. Sylvia KJanuary 3, 2011 at 12:53 PM

    A very interesting and beautiful bird indeed and your photos are terrific as always, Gary! Enjoy your new year and thank you for your visits/comments! Always appreciated!

    Sylvia

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  4. Martha ZJanuary 3, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    Great series, Gary. Although the markings are similar, I don't think our Acorn Woodpeckers have that big a beak. Now I curious, I'll have to pull up a picture of the Acorn.

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  5. EG CameraGirlJanuary 3, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    We have both hairy and downy woodpeckers that live at our feeders year-round. They truly are wonderful birds. Did you also know they also LOVE shelled peanuts?

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  6. Photo CacheJanuary 3, 2011 at 1:10 PM

    the red on his head is eye-catching. happy new year.

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  7. CarverJanuary 3, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    Wonderful shots of the hairy woodpecker. I have downy and red-bellied woodpeckers, as well as flickers but I haven't seen a hairy woodpecker in my yard.

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  8. RajeshJanuary 3, 2011 at 1:38 PM

    Wonderful series of shots of the bird in action.

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  9. RandiJanuary 3, 2011 at 1:50 PM

    Terrific shots...as always. These birds are critically endangered here in Sweden, mainly due to the lack of suitable biotopes.

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  10. Bob BushellJanuary 3, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    Great Woodpecker shots, and thanks for the mention on my site.

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  11. Simona AlbaneseJanuary 3, 2011 at 4:02 PM

    Good shots!!! Really interesting and very informative!!1

    Thanks,
    Simona
    http://brisbanetuttigg.blogspot.com/

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  12. AlJanuary 3, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    Nice photos. That tongue sounds scary, I wouldn't want it anywhere near me!

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  13. KarenJanuary 3, 2011 at 5:10 PM

    Terrific shots.

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  14. tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.comJanuary 3, 2011 at 6:02 PM

    Beautiful shots,I love seeing birds in their natural enviroment.I have the smaller Downey here at my feeder,although the Hairy has been seen in our area,just not by me,yet,phylliso

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  15. YoshiJanuary 3, 2011 at 9:53 PM

    I always enjoy seeing your beautiful photos of birds. Sometimes I wonder how you managed to photograph birds since I am not good at it:)
    Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day.
    Yoshi

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  16. YoshiJanuary 3, 2011 at 9:55 PM

    Well, I should be following your FANTASTIC blog from now on. I wonder why I haven't so far...

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  17. jeanlivingsimpleJanuary 3, 2011 at 10:05 PM

    Gary, Great captures of the Hairy and information!

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  18. NatureFootstepJanuary 4, 2011 at 2:21 AM

    this one is rather similar to out Great spotted woodpecker. But I think yours are cuter. :) Great shots Gary. They have a habit of going around the trunk out os sight. :(

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  19. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:38 AM

    To Dejemonos Sorprender: Thanks for the visit and kind words.

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  20. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:40 AM

    To Kay L. Davies: Almost obsessive in search for food, don't you think.

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  21. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:41 AM

    To Sylvia K. Thanks for the visit and kind words.

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  22. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:43 AM

    To Martha Z. I'll be interested to hear about your acorn woodpecker.

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  23. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:45 AM

    To EG WOW: Yes there is some territory overlap, but there are apparently no hybirds. I read that somewhere.

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  24. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:46 AM

    To Photo Cache: Thanks for the visit. The female without the patch is pretty dramatic also.

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  25. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:48 AM

    To Carver: There have been sightings of redbellied woodpeckers up here recently. They're a beautiful bird also.

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  26. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:50 AM

    To Rajesh: Thanks for the visit and I'm enjoying your tour of India.

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  27. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:51 AM

    To Randi: That's unfortunate. I can't imagine doing without these guys.

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  28. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:53 AM

    Hi Bob: Keep us up to date on your struggles to protect the forest of Dean.

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  29. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:56 AM

    To Simona Albanese: Italy's loss is Australia's gain. Thanks for the visit.

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  30. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:57 AM

    To Al: When you see them going at a tree they do look slightly demented.

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  31. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:58 AM

    Hi Karen. Thanks for the visit, and glad you enjoyed the photos.

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  32. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:59 AM

    To phylliso: Hope you get to see him/her upclose.

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  33. Hilke BrederJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:00 AM

    Great series, Gary. You get the sense of him working really hard! I didn't know about the tongue curling around the eye socket, ready to shoot out, I guess.

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  34. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    Hi Yoshi. From you that's tall praise, and I'm off to join your site.

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  35. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:08 AM

    Hi Jean. Nice to have you back. Boom & Gary.

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  36. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:09 AM

    To NatureFootstep: They do tend to move around to the wrong side of the tree. Thanks for the visit.

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  37. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:11 AM

    Hi Hilke. That's a really good article I sited. I must be getting really series sounding scholarly and all.

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  38. ChrisJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:34 AM

    I found wood pecker so hard to get pictures of. Congrats on that set, it is beautiful... Looks like you are getting the same kind of light than us ;-)

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  39. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 7:18 AM

    I think you are darker than we are but your temperatures,where you are, are similiar to ours, because the gulf stream moderates your climate. The forest here has a good amount of birch and aspen that do not have long life spans and provide exceptionally forage and housing for these guys, so they're common.

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  40. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:06 PM

    Nice photos of the woodpecker. They are similar in appearance but the few times I've seen a hairy the larger size has been immediately noticeable. But any excuse to take a closer look is good, right?

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  41. JJanuary 5, 2011 at 1:50 PM

    Wonderful photos. Great blog.

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  42. UnknownJanuary 5, 2011 at 2:58 PM

    Thanks Jeremy for the visit and words.

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