Maryland Woodpeckers
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Maryland has seven species of woodpeckers, and I have photos of all seven to share and compare.
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#1 Red-headed Woodpecker – Unlike other woodpeckers, the Red-headed Woodpecker can also hunt and snatch insects in mid-air.
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#1 Red-headed Woodpecker (sexes look alike)
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#2 Red-bellied Woodpecker – This woodpecker’s tongue can extend out two inches past its beak and is barbed at the tip and covered with sticky spit that snags prey from deep crevices.
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#2 Red-bellied Woodpecker (male)
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#2 Red-bellied Woodpecker (male)
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#3 Pileated Woodpecker – This is the largest woodpecker in North America and the woodpecker used to craft the famous cartoon character, Woody Woodpecker.
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#3 Pileated Woodpecker (female)
(photographed back in October)
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#4 Northern Flicker Yellow-shafted – This woodpecker prefers to find its favorite food on the ground, digging in the dirt to lap up ants. I flushed the one in the first photo from the ground up to the tree, not knowing it was there. He looks startled too.
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Northern Flicker – Yellow-shafted (male)
(Yellow-shafted is found in the East, Red-shafted in the West)
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Northern Flicker – Yellow-shafted (male)
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#5 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – Just as you might think from it’s name, this woodpecker laps up the leaking sap and any trapped insects with its specialized, brush-tipped tongue from the holes it drills.
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#5 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (female)
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#6 Hairy Woodpecker – Often confused with it’s lookalike the Downy Woodpecker, the Hairy is larger and lacks the black spots on its outer white tail feathers.
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#6 Hairy Woodpecker (male)
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#7 Downy Woodpecker – This woodpecker is the smallest in North America and the most common seen in Maryland. Downright adorable too!
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#7 Downy Woodpecker (male)
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