Thursday, August 12, 2010

Hairy Woodpecker vs Downy Woodpecker

I stopped by Ojibway with the family tonight for a quick bikeride and saw this Hairy Woodpecker on the side of the nature center. I shot this with a simple point-and-shoot from 20 feet away (excuse the blur!). I noticed that last fall,  more Hairy Woodpeckers were present than at any other time of the year. They were almost easily seen for about 3 weeks. I wonder if they migrate a little bit?

Its in the same spot as a female Downy Woodpecker I photographed a while back...

These two birds are good examples of Convergent Evolotion, but more interestingly, offer great basic lessons in birding.

Birding Videos from Cornell: (The size/shape video uses these woodpeckers in their discussion)
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1270

Great resource on comparing Hairy vs Downy Woodpeckers
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/woodpeckerIDtable.htm

Good Birding!
Dwayne

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