Our beloved Downys

The first woodpecker to ever come visit our suet feeders was the little downy, which makes sense because it's the most common in North America (I'll introduce our other two regulars soon). These guys are pretty small and so cute. They're the smallest woodpecker and they only weigh about 21-28 g (thank you Sibleys). We've seen up to three males and three females at a time (never all six at once, but up to three of each sex at a time). The male has the red patch on the head, while the female doesn't (you can see the male in the pic above).

Last spring we definitely saw the babies as they left the nest and stayed near a parent while exploring the yard for food. The babies were a little smaller and their feathers were so bright! It was pretty exciting to know that they were nesting nearby (I'll post at some point about our nesting box trials and tribulations). We've already heard the drumming on the trees which is their way of communicating and declaring their territory to others. Woodpeckers tend to nest and mate early (Feb/Mar).

The downys have been year-round visitors to our yard- eating at the trees, the suet feeders (usually the near one so we always have a great view of them) and occasionally at the seed feeders as well. These guys are probably in my top five favourites to see. Their little peeping noises are pretty cute too.