{"id":135551,"date":"2024-10-13T02:38:37","date_gmt":"2024-10-13T07:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=135551"},"modified":"2024-10-12T14:01:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-12T19:01:58","slug":"female-downy-woodpecker-beauty-of-sunlight-and-shadows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/10\/13\/female-downy-woodpecker-beauty-of-sunlight-and-shadows\/","title":{"rendered":"Female Downy Woodpecker – Beauty of Sunlight and Shadows"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

\"FemaleFemale Downy Woodpecker in sunlight with shadows \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 2500, 1.0 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 312mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The striking black-and-white female woodpecker seemed to glow in the natural spotlight. She fed on the suet long enough for me to take a nice, long series of images of her. I deleted the ones where she was facing away from me and kept the photos where she was looking towards me.<\/p>\n

The dramatic light and shadows certainly appealed to me. Your tastes may vary, and that’s fine.<\/p>\n

\"DownyDowny Woodpecker female in a natural spotlight \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 2500, -1.0 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 312mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

When the female Downy Woodpecker finished eating, she flew away to a pine tree, leaving me with a smile on my face.<\/p>\n

I know this type of bird photo isn\u2019t everyone\u2019s cup of tea, but I quite enjoy them. Immensely, even.<\/p>\n

I’m also really enjoying having Downy Woodpeckers in my viewfinder as frequently as I do. They weren’t all that easy for me to find and photograph when I lived in Utah. Here in Arkansas, they come to the suet feeder quite often.<\/p>\n

Now, if I could just get Hairy Woodpeckers and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers to show up like the Downy Woodpeckers do, I’d be even happier. I’ve only seen one Hairy Woodpecker and, very recently, one Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Arkansas. Oh, and Pileated Woodpeckers in my viewfinder would be great too!<\/p>\n

For now, I’m delighted each and every time I have a Downy Woodpecker<\/span><\/a> in my sight.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135546,"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":[4004,970,193,1996,2143,4620,13981,4070,13931,4204,6905,4104,4677,9852,15824,6326,4777,2146,13966],"class_list":["post-135551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-avian","category-downy-woodpeckers","category-sebastian-county","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-downy-woodpecker","tag-driftwood","tag-dryobates-pubescens","tag-fall","tag-feeder","tag-female","tag-garden","tag-light","tag-natural","tag-perched","tag-shadows","tag-spotlight","tag-suburban","tag-sunlight","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers","tag-yard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/downy-woodpecker-female-light-dark-mia-mcpherson-6388.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-zgj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":133395,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/30\/adult-female-downy-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":135551,"position":0},"title":"Adult Female Downy Woodpecker","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult female Downy Woodpecker with a suet covered bill, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/downy-woodpecker-adult-female-suet-mia-mcpherson-5761.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-adult-female-suet-mia-mcpherson-5761.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/downy-woodpecker-adult-female-suet-mia-mcpherson-5761.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/downy-woodpecker-adult-female-suet-mia-mcpherson-5761.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113998,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/26\/downy-woodpecker-photos-from-arkansas\/","url_meta":{"origin":135551,"position":1},"title":"Downy Woodpecker Photos From Arkansas","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When I photographed this immature Downy Woodpecker yesterday in my friend Steve's yard I didn't think I'd get two photos with its tongue sticking out. But I did!","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Downy Woodpecker with tongue sticking out, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/downy-woodpecker-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-4801.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/downy-woodpecker-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-4801.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/downy-woodpecker-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-4801.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/downy-woodpecker-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-4801.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":135551,"position":2},"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":132335,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/13\/young-downy-woodpecker-defensive-behavior\/","url_meta":{"origin":135551,"position":3},"title":"Young Downy Woodpecker Defensive Behavior","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Imagine you are a young Downy Woodpecker, just a couple of months old. 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":143002,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/20\/scruffy-male-downy-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":135551,"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. I'm glad he did.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wet and scruffy male Downy Woodpecker, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/downy-woodpecker-spring-mia-mcpherson-7139.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/downy-woodpecker-spring-mia-mcpherson-7139.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/downy-woodpecker-spring-mia-mcpherson-7139.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/downy-woodpecker-spring-mia-mcpherson-7139.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115012,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/04\/young-male-downy-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":135551,"position":5},"title":"Young Male Downy Woodpecker","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I thought this young male Downy Woodpecker, with bits of suet on his bill, was a striking bird, and that's why I decided to share this photo today.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young male Downy Woodpecker in Arkansas, Sebastian County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5744.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5744.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5744.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-mia-mcpherson-5744.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}