![]() Unlike most woodpeckers, our Northern flicker friends prefer to peck the ground for food, searching for ants and beetles to eat. If you want to be certain, though, look for a black crescent-shaped patch of feathers underneath the bird’s neck, bright yellow highlights underneath the wing, and a red patch over the nape. Northern flickers are mostly brown, which is often enough information to identify them. However, they’re more likely to overwinter in neighborhoods that have a generous number of backyard feeders. Just like their red-headed cousins, these woodpeckers typically migrate south during winter. If you want to be sure you’ve identified this bird correctly, look at its head - you’ll find a bright red patch of feathers spanning across the cap and nape. Red-Bellied Woodpeckerĭespite their name, the red-bellied woodpecker has a pale white belly with faint reddish spots. ![]() You can still spot them during a New Hampshire summer, but when winter comes, they’ll migrate south to search for warmth. Sadly, changes in climate and habitat have led to a currently declining population for these woodpeckers. Red-headed woodpeckers’ heads are entirely bright red, their underparts are white, and their wings are split in half with a black top and a white bottom. Thanks to its striking appearance, you won’t need any birdwatching experience to identify these red-headed beauties. ![]() Scientific Name: Melanerpes erythrocephalus.So how can even a beginner birdwatcher tell them apart? The size, of course! A hairy woodpecker grows 2 times larger than its downy cousin, and it sports a bill that’s larger and a bit pointier.Īlthough the hairy woodpeckers are as friendly as their lookalikes, they’re not quite as social rather than feasting at backyard feeders, they tend to forage for insects to eat on oak and pine trees. Hairy WoodpeckerĪt first glance, you might mistake the hairy woodpeckers for a downy - after all, they share the same color pattern, including the male-specific red patches. Males have a characteristic red patch on the back of the head.Īs one of New Hampshire’s permanent residents, you can see these birds throughout the year. Their wings show a black and white pattern with a large white patch running in the middle, but their underparts are mostly white. You can easily identify them by their small size and tiny bills, which look like those of sparrows. Their population is continuously prospering because they always find an easy food source at backyard feeders. In this post, we’ll tell you how to spot and recognize all woodpeckers in New Hampshire by their appearance, behavior, seasonality, and more! Downy Woodpeckerĭowny woodpeckers are one of the friendliest woodpecker species. While you can just sit back and enjoy such beautiful behavior, it’ll be much more fun if you can identify the species in front of you. While gazing upon these trees, you’re bound to notice one or two woodpeckers drumming at the bark to feed on the insects living there. We definitely love seeing its mesmerizing vistas of fall foliage, especially around the Great North Woods. ![]() The tails of all woodpeckers are stiffened, and when the bird perches on a vertical surface, the tail and feet work together to support it.With more than 4.8 million acres of forest land, New Hampshire is the second most forested state in the United States.Individual woodpeckers are thought to be able to distinguish the drumming of their mates and even that of their neighbors. The drumming also serves for mutual recognition between the birds and plays a part in courtship rituals. The drumming is mainly a territorial call and males drum more frequently than females. Drumming is a form of non-vocal communication used by most species of woodpecker and involves the bill being repeatedly struck on a hard surface with great rapidity.It takes about 1 to 3 weeks for Downy woodpeckers to excavate a nest cavity before laying eggs.While on trees Downy woodpeckers move horizontally and downwards, however, they may occasionally feed on the ground where they move by hopping.Downy woodpeckers have special feathers around their nostrils these feathers keep the birds from breathing in wood chips. ![]()
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