{"id":138071,"date":"2024-12-22T02:37:49","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T08:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=138071"},"modified":"2025-07-07T10:48:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T15:48:49","slug":"winter-male-red-bellied-woodpecker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/12\/22\/winter-male-red-bellied-woodpecker\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Male Red-bellied Woodpecker"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m sharing three photos of a male Red-bellied Woodpecker that I took yesterday on the Winter Solstice, which also marks the first day of astronomical winter.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Red-bellied Woodpecker on the first day of winter \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/200, ISO 1250, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The day started off pretty chilly, I saw a low of 23\u00b0F, but it was bright and sunny. It took a while for the birds to come in, but after a bit, the bird activity picked up and was hopping.<\/p>\n

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has started coming to the feeder for the peanuts; he sure seems to enjoy them.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Red-bellied Woodpecker with a peanut \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the sun rose higher, the light was gorgeous. The Red-bellied Woodpecker made several trips to the feeder to snatch up peanuts. At times, he would fly to nearby trees to eat the nuts. Other times, he flew further away\u2014perhaps he was caching those peanuts.<\/p>\n

\"WinterWinter Red-bellied Woodpecker male \u2013 Canon R7, f8, 1\/1250, ISO 500, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This last image shows the ‘red belly’ that gives this woodpecker species their name. It isn\u2019t much of a red belly at all.<\/p>\n

The male Red-bellied Woodpecker was wary of a Northern Mockingbird that had been terrorizing nearly all the birds visiting the feeders. As soon as the woodpecker saw the mockingbird, he would take off, with or without a peanut.<\/p>\n

I’m glad the Red-bellied Woodpeckers<\/span><\/a> have started visiting the feeders again. I missed photographing them after their breeding season ended, when they stopped coming as often.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I’m sharing three photos of a male Red-bellied Woodpecker that I took yesterday on the Winter Solstice, which also marks the first day of astronomical winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138062,"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":[13950,13997,13951],"tags":[4004,13965,4142,1996,13981,13931,4062,13998,13608,13999,13964,15824,373,4777,2146,13966],"class_list":["post-138071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arkansas","category-red-bellied-woodpeckers","category-sebastian-county","tag-adult","tag-arkansas","tag-close-up","tag-driftwood","tag-feeder","tag-garden","tag-male","tag-melanerpes-carolinus","tag-peanut","tag-red-bellied-woodpecker","tag-sebastian-county","tag-suburban","tag-winter","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers","tag-yard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/red-bellied-woodpecker-adult-male-mia-mcpherson-1001.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-zUX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":138939,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/23\/snowy-portraits-male-red-bellied-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":138071,"position":0},"title":"Snowy Portraits: Male Red-bellied Woodpecker","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The snowfall earlier this month in Arkansas provided many opportunities for me to photograph various bird species, including this male Red-bellied Woodpecker.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Red-bellied Woodpecker close up in a snowstorm, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-snow-winter-mia-mcpherson-7772.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-snow-winter-mia-mcpherson-7772.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-snow-winter-mia-mcpherson-7772.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-snow-winter-mia-mcpherson-7772.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":134128,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/08\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-up-close\/","url_meta":{"origin":138071,"position":1},"title":"Red-bellied Woodpecker Male Up Close","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy Sunday! Today I am sharing one Red-bellied Woodpecker male up close photo that I took two days ago just because I like the image of the woodpecker.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-bellied Woodpecker male up close, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-up-close-mia-mcpherson-7216.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-up-close-mia-mcpherson-7216.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-up-close-mia-mcpherson-7216.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-up-close-mia-mcpherson-7216.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":133219,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/27\/young-red-bellied-woodpecker-on-a-hot-summer-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":138071,"position":2},"title":"Young Red-bellied Woodpecker On A Hot Summer Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing two photos of a young Red-bellied Woodpecker that I photographed two days ago. I'm so very delighted to be seeing this species again.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Red-bellied Woodpecker on a wooden post, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/red-bellied-woodpecker-immature-mia-mcpherson-5253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/red-bellied-woodpecker-immature-mia-mcpherson-5253.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/red-bellied-woodpecker-immature-mia-mcpherson-5253.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/red-bellied-woodpecker-immature-mia-mcpherson-5253.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128142,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/30\/female-and-male-red-bellied-woodpecker-portraits\/","url_meta":{"origin":138071,"position":3},"title":"Female And Male Red-bellied Woodpecker Portraits","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I am sharing a few of the Red-bellied Woodpecker portraits I've taken in my friend and fellow photographer Steve Creek's amazing birdy yard in Arkansas.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Red-bellied Woodpecker portrait in Arkansas, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/red-bellied-woodpecker-adult-female-mia-mcpherson-3463.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/red-bellied-woodpecker-adult-female-mia-mcpherson-3463.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/red-bellied-woodpecker-adult-female-mia-mcpherson-3463.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/red-bellied-woodpecker-adult-female-mia-mcpherson-3463.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":113822,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/06\/17\/young-red-bellied-woodpecker-with-an-adult-close-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":138071,"position":4},"title":"Young Red-bellied Woodpecker With An Adult Close Up","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I'm sharing a close up photo of a young Red-bellied Woodpecker with an adult taken in my good friend Steve Creek's yard at a feeder.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Young Red-bellied Woodpecker with an adult, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/red-bellied-woodpeckers-male-young-mia-mcpherson-5387.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/red-bellied-woodpeckers-male-young-mia-mcpherson-5387.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/red-bellied-woodpeckers-male-young-mia-mcpherson-5387.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/red-bellied-woodpeckers-male-young-mia-mcpherson-5387.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":149717,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/06\/29\/summer-male-red-bellied-woodpecker-portrait\/","url_meta":{"origin":138071,"position":5},"title":"Summer Male Red-bellied Woodpecker Portrait","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It was around this time last summer that I photographed this adult male Red-bellied Woodpecker. I saw him practically every day at the feeders.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Red-bellied Woodpecker in summer, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-summer-mia-mcpherson-7443.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-summer-mia-mcpherson-7443.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-summer-mia-mcpherson-7443.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/red-bellied-woodpecker-male-summer-mia-mcpherson-7443.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\/138071","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=138071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}