Translate

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

HAIRY WOODPECKER, PRESQU'ILE PROVINCIAL PARK, BRIGHTON, ON

   We can ID this woodpecker as a Hairy Woodpecker, rather than the very similar Downy Woodpecker mainly by its relatively large size.  We were able to get within a few feet of it and could easily determine it was in the 9-10" range (Hairy Woodpecker), rather than the 6-7" range (Downy Woodpecker).  Other field marks which indicate a Hairy Woodpecker are:
  • Long, chisel like bill which is almost the size of the head.  The Downy Woodpecker's bill is short, dainty and about 1/3 the size of the head.
  • The red patch of this male is split in two.  This occurs on the Hairy Woodpecker, but not the Downy Woodpecker.
   The Hairy Woodpecker is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 300.






No comments:

Post a Comment