Tree Hugger - Hairy Woodpecker

[AlvanBuckley]

Taken yesterday on the Leslie Street Spit in Toronto.

I don't know what the bird was doing exactly but it seemed to rub its head on the tree as if it had a itch on its head!

ISO 500
0 ev
f/5.6
SS 1/640
Nikon D300s + VR 80-400 @ 400mm
no flash


C&C always appreciated!
thanks in advance
-Alvan Buckley

[Randy Stout]

Alvan:

interesting behaviour, glad you described what was going on.

I think the image needs to go a bit brighter. Because he is in the shade, he needs to be brought up a bit.
I would crop from the left to eliminate the bright spot on the trunk, which will go even brighter if you lighten the image. Subtle flash use might have helped to balance the original image.

The reflection on the eye is rather odd looking.

Pretty sharp for this lens, at that f/stop and focal length.

Cheers

Randy

[Kurt Bowman]

I think Randy provides some good tips...I echo his comments about the shadows and trunk., but also wish there was a bit more room on the right.

[Todd Frost]

Interesting pose on this little guy. Good advice given above.
TFS
Todd

[Dave Walz]

I like the pose. I think he is probably just rubbing his head. I can't twll from my monitor, but I think he has his eye shut. My question goes to the species of the woodpecker. Is this a Hairy Woodpecker or a Downy Woodpecker? And finally, what is the difference in the two species?

[Paul Guris]

Randy: That odd looking "reflection" is actually the translucent nictitating membrane that birds have. So the bird is essentially blinking without completely closing its eye. To get rid of it, you'd actually have to build an iris and pupil on the bird.

Dave: The bird looks more like Downy to me in that photo, but it's a tough angle. The main difference between the two species is overall size, the larger bill on Hairy (both in absolute and relative terms), and Downy often has small dark marks on its white outer tail feathers. In my area, male Hairy always has a mid-section black split up through the red spot, but I don't know if this is true up in Alvan's neck of the woods. Also, to me Hairy looks longer necked and longer headed than Downy. This can really show up when the birds are on alert.

Finally, the calls of Hairy and Downy are different. The Hairy's sinlge note is much sharper and more metallic than Downy, and the rattle call of Downy is less harsh and descends while the Hairy's rattle is generally level and can be mistaken by some for a Kingfisher.

[AlvanBuckley]

Hi all,
thanks for the comments and suggestions. The image certainly does look dark here. It didn't seem nearly as dark on my computer. Next time I'll have to make sure the photo appears as I thought!
Paul, you're correct that that is the membrane over the eye.

Dave:
In the image it appears as though he is listening to the tree but I think you're right that we was just rubbing his head!
Here is a site that explains the difference between Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/woodpeckerIDtable.htm

There is a bit of black extending from the nexk area to the upper breast area (a characteristic of Hairy and not Downy).

Paul:
Although it is difficult to determine the species just from the photo I can confirm that the bird was a Hairy Woodpecker based on a few traits including the call and beak size. I have other photos that show these characteristics a little better. Also, there was a Downy on a tree right next to it allowing for an easy comparison of size, etc!

thanks again everyone!

[Paul Guris]

"Also, there was a Downy on a tree right next to it allowing for an easy comparison of size, etc!"

I love it when they do that. Makes life SOOOO much easier.

I also measure them by my suet cake feeder. If it's roughly the length of the cage, it's a Downy. Longer, it's a Hairy. This shows nicely on the link you supplied.

[Dave Walz]

Thanks for the great info on IDing the two species. I had never noticed the black toning from the shoulder to the breast. I guess that is one of the many things that make this site so helpful. Finally, I can now identify that the woodpeckers in my backyard are really Downy Woodpeckers not Hairy Woodpeckers.