Downy Woodpecker
“Interestingly this Bluebird pair decided to nest in a Downy woodpecker cavity... in the side of our house.”
Through the year
Columns that mention it, by the month they were published.
Year by year
Columns that mention it each year.
In his words
All 9 passages, oldest first.
Pileated, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers are all regular winter residents, as are the increasing number of Red-bellied woodpeckers choosing to not vacation south.
As for woodpeckers, I counted six Hairy woodpeckers, nine Downey woodpeckers, two Red-bellied Woodpeckers and one Pileated Woodpecker in our yard on the same day.
Interestingly this Bluebird pair decided to nest in a Downy woodpecker cavity... in the side of our house.
On Oct. 26 a Pileated female, Red-bellied, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers of both sexes visited our suet cages.
Minutes later these same two bluebirds were chased off the suet by a mouse-sized Downy Woodpecker.
Additionally, for the second straight year in a row our resident pair of Bluebirds has decided to nest in the Downy woodpecker cavity in the side of our house.
Minutes later two of the bluebirds were chased off the suet by a mouse-sized Downy Woodpecker, which in turn was shortly run off by a Northern Flicker passing through on its trek south.
Sapsuckers are slightly smaller than Hairy Woodpeckers but noticeably larger than a Downy Woodpecker.
Just beyond in a Crab apple tree a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Hairy and a Downy Woodpecker exchanged pleasantries.