Woodrow P. Ecker

[SCraig]

Golden hour this morning with the sun right on the tops of the trees and the sky behind still dark blue. This little guy was banging on the shaded side of a dead tree and moved behind it entirely when he saw me. I got some shots of him on the shaded side that weren't very good since the background is so washed out. He moved around to the sunlit side but kept most of his tree between him and me. Truth be told, I'm not sure it's a "He" since I don't know how to tell the difference between the male and female

 

[baturn]

Nice shot. How far?

 

[SCraig]

Nice shot. How far?

10 meters. Straight up I was right at the bottom of the tree.

 

[LarryLomona]

Very nicely done.

 

[Rick58]

Nice

 

[sm4him]

Cool photo of it!

Gonna say it's Woodiene, though, not Woodrow.
The best "marker" I've found for R-B Woodpeckers is that on the male, the red tends to extend completely from the bill back to where the black starts on its back. On the females, the red tends to be just on the nape at the back of the neck and a little close to the bill, but not in between. Can't really quite tell on this one, but it LOOKS like maybe there's a break in the red there on its head.
Not really sure though and I doubt the bird really CARES whether we get its gender right.

 

[BillM]

Nice shot, they are one of my favorites :thumbup:

 

[SCraig]

Very nicely done.

Nice

Nice shot, they are one of my favorites :thumbup:

Thanks guys. I appreciate the comments very much.

Cool photo of it!

Gonna say it's Woodiene, though, not Woodrow.
The best "marker" I've found for R-B Woodpeckers is that on the male, the red tends to extend completely from the bill back to where the black starts on its back. On the females, the red tends to be just on the nape at the back of the neck and a little close to the bill, but not in between. Can't really quite tell on this one, but it LOOKS like maybe there's a break in the red there on its head.
Not really sure though and I doubt the bird really CARES whether we get its gender right.

Nope, based on your criteria he's a Woodrow Here's another (admittedly terrible) shot of him on the shaded side of the tree and his head is red from the bill to his back.

BTW, Radnor Lake is frozen solid from one end to the other. Not one single duck of any species in sight today. Apparently even the resident ducks bailed out!

 

[sm4him]

Ah, yes, so it is! Thank goodness, because Woodrow sounds MUCH better anyway.

 

[robbins.photo]

The shots are fantastic - the lighting is just amazing. But what really impresses me is that you actually managed to get him to sign a modeling release using his full name. Good show old man.. lol

 

[SCraig]

Ah, yes, so it is! Thank goodness, because Woodrow sounds MUCH better anyway.

I hate that shot, but at least it shows his whole head. And, yeah, Woodrow does sound a lot better

The shots are fantastic - the lighting is just amazing. But what really impresses me is that you actually managed to get him to sign a modeling release using his full name. Good show old man.. lol

Signing the modeling release was one of the tough parts, and I've got several holes in my hand where he punched through the paper signing it. The real hard part was trying to explain what a modeling release is to a woodpecker

 

[randyphotoforum]

superb feather detail and colors

 

[HL45]

Very nice! Beautiful bird!

 

[ORourkeK]

I love the colors. That is a cool looking bird.

 

[kundalini]

.... On the females, the red tends to be just on the nape at the back of the neck and a little close to the bill, but not in between. ....

Not being arguementative, but my field guide (of the Carolinas) states the female is marked just like the male, except with a grey crown.

HERE