Can you help with this woodpecker ID? He was in my backyard in Fort Worth, TX on 8/17/2009. My photos aren't great, because he was pretty far away. I didn't see any red or yellow markings. He did get on my platform feeder and eat some black oil sunflower seed.
This message was edited Aug 31, 2009 9:23 PM
Here's another photo.
This message was edited Aug 31, 2009 9:21 PM
Not to sure, maybe a young Red-bellied WP?
Burd is right.
I snapped a pic of one on 7/19/09. It was eating Orange Treat suet.
This message was edited Sep 1, 2009 2:50 AM
This may have been daddy (snapped him on 6/27/09). A good looking bird. I don't how long it takes one to fledge.
Juvenile or young male Golden-fronted Woodpecker?
In Fort Worth, it'll be a Red-bellied Woodpecker. No Golden-fronted Woodpeckers until you get further west in Texas, west of a line roughly Corpus Christi - San Antonio - Abilene.
Resin
Hmmm, wonder if that line is based on some much older observations? They're definitely north and east of it now. The range map I usually see shows roughly the Brazos as the line, then up into central OK.
Either way, they're interesting birds to have dropping by the backyard...
Hey realbirdlady, my son and his wife of almost a year live in Austin, too - small world, huh..
She's a lawyer and he's a mechanical engineer.
Hack
Hmmm, wonder if that line is based on some much older observations? They're definitely north and east of it now.
The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center BBS map shows a small population in (near?) that area:
http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i4100id.html
edit: can't link directly to the map, click on "BBS"
This message was edited Sep 1, 2009 5:29 PM
Thanks for all the info. Hopefully, I'll catch another shot so we can get a better look.
It really does look like the northern version of the Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus).
Juvenile Red-bellied and Golden-fronted are fairly tough to distinguish; they don't have the distinct head patterns that the adults have. The area to check is the rump and tail; Red-bellied has a white rump with black freckles, and a barred black-and-white tail, while Golden-fronted has a pure white rump (no black freckles) and a solid black tail.
Although not too clear in the pics, they appear to show a barred tail, pointing to Red-bellied.
Resin
It looks like a juvenile/immature Red-bellied Woodpecker to me. They are a common bird in a lot of area's of the U.S.
Here's a photo I took last year of a juvenile hanging on a tree waiting for the parent to feed it. You can barely make out the beginnings of the blush on top of the head.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/showimage/634/
The babies hang onto the side of the tree waiting for the parent to bring food from the nearby suet feeder that is only about 2' away! And, boy are the little ones noisy, waiting for the food! http://davesgarden.com/guides/birdfiles/showimage/636/
I had a male Golden-fronted in my yard today and have had Red-bellied in the past. I guess it could have been either? Today is the first time I've noticed a Golden-fronted in my backyard.
