{"id":175908,"date":"2026-05-12T04:09:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T09:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=175908"},"modified":"2026-05-12T04:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T09:09:04","slug":"red-headed-woodpecker-in-a-mulberry-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/05\/12\/red-headed-woodpecker-in-a-mulberry-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-headed Woodpecker In A Mulberry At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Red-headedRed-headed Woodpecker in a mulberry \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/800, ISO 500, Canon RF 100-500mm at 472mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This striking Red-headed Woodpecker perched in a mulberry was one of the birds that caught my eye yesterday while I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n

It was the red, black, and white color combination against the lush green leaves of the mulberry that grabbed my attention.<\/p>\n

The woodpecker was on the passenger side of my Jeep, so I rolled down the window, twisted in my seat, and focused on the bird from there. I knew that if I went up the road, turned around, and drove back to the woodpecker, that it would most likely be gone before I got back.<\/p>\n

I made the right choice. The Red-headed Woodpecker took off across a field seconds after this photo was taken.<\/p>\n

I was also glad that this woodpecker was at eye level. I see these woodpeckers at the refuge frequently, but more often than not they are in very tall trees. Photographing at such steep angles doesn’t appeal to me much. No matter what bird species it might be.<\/p>\n

Red-headed Woodpecker are, for all practicality, living fossils. Pleistocene-age fossils of Red-headed Woodpeckers, dating back as far as 2 million years, have been found in Florida, Illinois, and Virginia.<\/p>\n

I usually hear the harsh weah<\/em> calls of Red-headed Woodpeckers<\/span><\/a> before I spot them. The one I photographed yesterday was an exception. It didn’t call at all while perched on the young mulberry tree.<\/p>\n

I’m delighted to be in a part of the country where I can see, hear, and photograph these interesting and beautiful birds again. Red-headed Woodpeckers sure are eye-catching and hard to miss.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

This striking Red-headed Woodpecker perched in a mulberry was one of the birds that caught my eye yesterday while I was at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":175905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,13973,14001,13974],"tags":[4004,6583,14002,15059,14003,4018,165,4427,4777,2146],"class_list":["post-175908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-red-headed-woodpeckers","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-leaves","tag-melanerpes-erythrocephalus","tag-mulberry","tag-red-headed-woodpecker","tag-sky","tag-spring","tag-tree","tag-woodpecker","tag-woodpeckers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/red-headed-woodpecker-in-mulberry-mia-mcpherson-8556.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-JLe","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":147597,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/05\/30\/spring-red-headed-woodpecker\/","url_meta":{"origin":175908,"position":0},"title":"Spring 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On!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Five days ago I was very happy to photograph and take Red-headed Woodpecker videos at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge on a bright morning in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-headed Woodpecker at their nesting cavity, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-headed-woopecker-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-0949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/red-headed-woopecker-nesting-cavity-mia-mcpherson-0949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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