{"id":16695,"date":"2014-11-04T05:06:51","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T12:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=16695"},"modified":"2023-09-05T08:51:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T14:51:33","slug":"downy-woodpecker-in-the-willows-at-farmington-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/04\/downy-woodpecker-in-the-willows-at-farmington-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"Downy Woodpecker In The Willows At Farmington Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MaleMale Downy Woodpecker – Nikon D810, f8, 1\/200, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I was delighted to spot this male Downy Woodpecker in the willows the last time I went out to Farmington Bay Bird Refuge. There aren’t many trees at Farmington Bay but along the road to Goose Egg Island there are a few and this time of the year when the leaves are falling there are times I see these tiny woodpeckers in them. Some times I hear their calls<\/a> before I even see them or the sound of them pecking on the wood while they search for prey but this time I saw the bird without hearing a thing.<\/p>\n

Downy Woodpeckers are the smallest woodpeckers in North America and are seen from coast to coast.<\/p>\n

Photographing Downy Woodpeckers can be challenging because of the high contrast of their black and white plumage and because they are usually tucked away under the canopy of the trees which means there are often obstructions in front of the birds. Of the 70 images I took of this downy there were only a few that did not have leaves or branches obscuring part of the bird.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Enjoy the day!<\/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 was delighted to spot this male Downy Woodpecker in the willows the last time I went out to Farmington Bay Bird Refuge. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1022,2142,697,26],"tags":[4004,970,193,2143,4620,4062,4094,4104,4095,902,4777,2146],"class_list":["post-16695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-downy-woodpeckers","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-downy-woodpecker","tag-dryobates-pubescens","tag-fall","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-perched","tag-wetlands","tag-willows","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/downy-woodpecker-willows-mia-mcpherson-5721.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-4lh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":73003,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/08\/22\/immature-male-downy-woodpecker-close-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":16695,"position":0},"title":"Immature Male Downy Woodpecker Close Up","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A few weeks ago while up in the Wasatch Mountains I was able to see and photograph an immature male Downy Woodpecker as it foraged for food in willows and while clinging to a Common Mullein.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of an immature male Downy Woodpecker, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-close-up-mia-mcpherson-8977.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-close-up-mia-mcpherson-8977.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-close-up-mia-mcpherson-8977.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-close-up-mia-mcpherson-8977.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":16695,"position":1},"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":138516,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/05\/downy-woodpecker-at-joseph-h-williams-tallgrass-prairie-preserve\/","url_meta":{"origin":16695,"position":2},"title":"Downy Woodpecker At Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I'm sharing photos of an adult male Downy Woodpecker on a gravel road at Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage County, Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Downy Woodpeckers"","block_context":{"text":"Downy Woodpeckers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/woodpeckers\/downy-woodpeckers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Downy Woodpecker on a gravel road at Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Osage County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/downy-woodpecker-male-tallgrass-prairie-mia-mcpherson-4055.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/downy-woodpecker-male-tallgrass-prairie-mia-mcpherson-4055.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/downy-woodpecker-male-tallgrass-prairie-mia-mcpherson-4055.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/downy-woodpecker-male-tallgrass-prairie-mia-mcpherson-4055.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":149363,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/06\/26\/immature-male-downy-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":16695,"position":3},"title":"Immature Male Downy Woodpecker","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"It was one year ago today that I photographed this immature male Downy Woodpecker. So far this year, I haven't seen any young Downy Woodpeckers.","rel":"","context":"In "Arkansas"","block_context":{"text":"Arkansas","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/arkansas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Immature male Downy Woodpecker in summer, Sebastian County, Arkansas","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5335.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5335.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5335.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/downy-woodpecker-immature-male-arkansas-mia-mcpherson-5335.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":16695,"position":4},"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":[]},{"id":133395,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/30\/adult-female-downy-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":16695,"position":5},"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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16695","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=16695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}