My first Redheaded Woodpecker in my backyard

I was soooo excited to have Red head in my backyard in Friendswood. We don't usually see them this far south. I will share a few shots.

2nd shot

3rd shot

Wow he even came to your feeder. Congratulations! Great shots!

Terrific! It appears not only it's came to the feeder. The woodpecker didn't seem to be bothered by the Dove! Great pictures!

That would be exciting! Nice pics.

He's sure a handsome bird! Great photos.

Thanks for the compliments, I am hoping he will come back and bring his mate. I saw an immature redhead this weekend up at Lake Livingston. I was not able to get a picture. I don't know if it was just coincidence but he was right behind my red bellied who is a daily visitor. Let's hope for more.

Beautiful bird...you are so lucky!!

Great pics D! I've seen them, but have never been lucky enough to get pics of one. Congratulations. :)

I had one when I first bought my house 5 years ago and he completely vanished after the first year - until this summer! I am so happy to have him back! He's here at the feeder about every 30 minutes - every day. OK...to be clear, I don't know that it's the same bird... but I do love watching them.
For a three-color bird, the colors are so dramatic it takes my breath away.

This message was edited Aug 14, 2009 10:40 AM

Fantastic bird, Danea.

It seems he is in the area for a while. I saw him in the feeder 5 times yesterday. I have gone 2-3 days without seeing him at all. He is striking. He is hard to catch still for long. I am shooting through a window, so my pictures are not as clear as I would like. Here is a shot I managed to get yesterday.

Dan, I've a pair that recently came to my backyard feeder. One can almost see his/her excitement when he found a peanut among other sunflowers seeds. :-)

Looks like he is smiling Dan! Nice one.

Congratulation, on getting such a beautiful bird to your yard. Hope he stay for you. Keep sharing him with us, if he come back..:)

Yes Danea, that is a beautiful Woodpecker! What rich and solid colors. Great catch, and picture.

He is such a stunning bird...you and Lily are so darn lucky to have them visit your feeders!

Dan, have you named your Redheaded WP? Mine are named Lord and Lady 'Bama. lol. One of the two is much bigger than the other. I've decided that the bigger one is the lady. Here is one on its nest. Too far, I can't judge which is which. :-)

So far I think I have only seen one. We have named him Gregory. This is his latest shot.

Gregory is handsome! Here is my Lady 'Bama at the feeder. I saw a big black bird perched on her nest this morning. I hope they're (the woodpeckers) able to defend themselves against other big birds.

Your Lady "Bama is quite pretty. I have watched the red heads run off blue jays and the big white wings in the feeders. Hopefully they can defend their nest. I don't know where Gregory is living. On the days he comes it can be an hour between visits. I have not been able to figure out a pattern.

I think my 'Bama pair is molting. See that spot on her head? Same thing with her mate. Looks like they're going bald. lol.

As far as feeding pattern. There is no rhymth and rhythm to their behavior. The first day the bird discovered the feeder. They came samutanously one after the other. They perched on the dogwood tree watched cautiously around the area before they announced their liking of the seeds -- by dive bombing other small birds away. (I saw a purple finch'es feathers flew off as the Redhead dived bomb into her -- poor baby!) But by so far, the song birds don't seem to mind sharing with these pair. It's amazing!

I saw two redheads yesterday at a park I was checking out. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get to them to get a decent pic. *sigh*

24G, I took my pictures through a window, where depends where the sunlight of the day is. Sometimes, the birds cannot see me due to reflection of the window. That's when I can get some real nice pix. Other time, they see me, either they will fly off or hide behind the dogwood tree infront of the feeder.

When I see mine Lily, they're usually at the very top of a tree and the sky is the background as was the case the other day. It doesn't make for the greatest of pics. I was lucky enough to FINALLY get one late yesterday afternnoon and it turned out decent. That's a start.........

24G, I get to watch these birds' behaviors. They're more skittish and self-guarding rather than agressive against other birds. It's a joy watching them. Congrats on your finding one.

The parent RH did a fine job! They brought their fledgling to the feeder yesterday. This morning I thought this was one of the parents has returned -- as it turned out, the youngen has returned. As close up the baby grew fast, it's as big as its parent in size. Notice the head's feather isn't bright red yet.

You guys with your Red-heads are making me green with envy!

Yeh, sure Rose, the Hummingbird queen is going to get a lot of sympathy here.

:-)))

Ah hahhh! Hummingbirds Queen huh? lol. Rose, I'll be sure to send all the pictures detailing these Woodpeckers' development so you won't miss out a thing. :-)