Young Male Downy Woodpecker on Railing Mug

Here's a photo enlargement of a young male downy woodpecker on a wooden balcony railing in southern Quebec, Canada. There is a deep blue stripe on each side. This little fellow still has some baby feathers but you can see he's growing up to be a handsome guy. He has a red patch on the back of his head, which will get brighter later. Only male downy woodpeckers have the red patch. The females have striking black and white markings and look very neat and pretty. Notice how long his toes are, for grasping onto rough tree bark. He's a little awkward on the flat rail but it adds to his cuteness. Downies are the smallest woodpeckers in North America. The first time I saw this cute bird on the balcony he was accompanied by a mature female downy woodpecker who was probably his mother. Parent birds help the young find food and become self-sufficient. He got the hang of it very quickly. Here he's feasting on unsalted sunflower seeds, no shell. I put them out for some early chickadees. A lot of feeder birds absolutely love these and waste less energy since they don't have to crack shells. Sunflower seeds are high in fat which the birds need in winter. I put some suet out, but it was completely rejected by everyone in favor of the seeds. We often hear or see woodpeckers hammering on dead trees, or even on a wood roof or wood frame windows, seeking bugs and grubs. If there's one hammering on your roof or window frames it's most likely a downy. These woodpeckers are monogamous while mating and raising a family. They have an efficient way of distributing food resources. A male downy woodpecker has a longer beak than the female. He hammers or drills deeper into the trunk. The female pries up bark and surface wood with her shorter bill. That way a pair of downy woodpeckers can share the same tree without competing for food. Cute wild bird nature photo by M Sylvia Chaume, Canada. Happy blessings!