{"id":133395,"date":"2024-08-30T03:26:22","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T08:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=133395"},"modified":"2024-08-30T03:26:22","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T08:26:22","slug":"adult-female-downy-woodpecker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/30\/adult-female-downy-woodpecker\/","title":{"rendered":"Adult Female Downy Woodpecker"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m sharing a simple photo of a female Downy Woodpecker this morning that I took yesterday. But is the image all that simple for me? It isn’t, not really.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult female Downy Woodpecker with a suet covered bill \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/640, ISO 1250, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

One reason this image isn’t simple for me is that, in Utah, I struggled to get photos of female Downy Woodpeckers. Most of the Downy Woodpeckers I saw in the field there were males.<\/p>\n

I don’t know why that happened, and I wonder about the gender disparity. It seemed disproportionate to me.<\/p>\n

Another reason this photo of a female Downy Woodpecker isn’t simple for me is that, except for a few missing red feathers on her hind crown, she is every bit as vital as a male.<\/p>\n

Maybe more so, because without the females the males would all die out and this woodpecker species would become extinct. Which is the same thing that would happen to the human race without women.<\/p>\n

This female Downy Woodpecker had been feeding at the suet feeder, her bill still has bit of suet on it and in it. I was very happy she stopped by and that I was able to take photos of her.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Downy Woodpecker photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m sharing a simple photo of a female Downy Woodpecker this morning that I took yesterday. But is the image all that simple for me? It isn’t, not really.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13950,27,2142,13951],"tags":[4004,5552,193,1996,2143,13981,4070,13931,14247,2315,8018,4777,2146,13966],"class_list":["post-133395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-avian","category-downy-woodpeckers","category-sebastian-county","tag-adult","tag-bill","tag-downy-woodpecker","tag-driftwood","tag-dryobates-pubescens","tag-feeder","tag-female","tag-garden","tag-suet","tag-summer-3","tag-urban","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers","tag-yard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/downy-woodpecker-adult-female-suet-mia-mcpherson-5761.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-yHx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":135551,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/13\/female-downy-woodpecker-beauty-of-sunlight-and-shadows\/","url_meta":{"origin":133395,"position":0},"title":"Female Downy Woodpecker – Beauty of Sunlight and Shadows","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When this female Downy Woodpecker showed up at the suet feeder in such dramatic light and shadows, I knew I wanted to photograph her to showcase her beauty.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Downy Woodpecker female in a natural spotlight, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/downy-woodpecker-female-light-dark-mia-mcpherson-6388.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/downy-woodpecker-female-light-dark-mia-mcpherson-6388.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/downy-woodpecker-female-light-dark-mia-mcpherson-6388.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/downy-woodpecker-female-light-dark-mia-mcpherson-6388.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138516,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/05\/downy-woodpecker-at-joseph-h-williams-tallgrass-prairie-preserve\/","url_meta":{"origin":133395,"position":1},"title":"Downy Woodpecker At Joseph H. 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You fly to a suet feeder to get food to eat and suddenly get hit by another woodpecker.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Downy Woodpecker in defensive pose, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/downy-woodpecker-immature-mia-mcpherson-0239.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/downy-woodpecker-immature-mia-mcpherson-0239.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/downy-woodpecker-immature-mia-mcpherson-0239.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/downy-woodpecker-immature-mia-mcpherson-0239.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":127936,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/26\/spring-female-and-male-downy-woodpecker-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":133395,"position":3},"title":"Spring Female and Male Downy Woodpecker Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It started off rainy yesterday morning, but later on, I was delighted to take images of female and male Downy Woodpeckers from the comfort of Steve's deck.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring male Downy Woodpecker, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/downy-woodpecker-adult-spring-male-mia-mcpherson-1128.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/downy-woodpecker-adult-spring-male-mia-mcpherson-1128.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/downy-woodpecker-adult-spring-male-mia-mcpherson-1128.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/downy-woodpecker-adult-spring-male-mia-mcpherson-1128.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":143002,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/20\/scruffy-male-downy-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":133395,"position":4},"title":"Scruffy Male Downy Woodpecker","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Not long after a downpour of rain yesterday, this wet and scruffy male Downy Woodpecker flew in and landed on a vine near the suet feeder. 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