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Monday in Nature, 10 September 2018


ShunCheung

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Basic Guidelines

: In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include "hand of man elements". Please refrain from images with buildings or human made structures like roads, fences, walls. Pets are not permitted. Captive subjects in zoos, arboretums, or aquariums are permitted, but must be declared, and must focus on the subject, not the captivity. Images with obvious human made elements will likely be deleted from the thread, with an explanation to the photographer. Guidelines are based on PSA rules governing Nature photography which also cover the Nature Forum. Keep your image at/under 1000 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc.

Each member please post no more than just one image to this weekly thread per week.

 

Snowy egret flight

 

_D5A7627.thumb.jpg.10ff948350208554fd33eed1a2e7ccc6.jpg

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Flicker flicked at a distant tree as I trekked with a bird-watching group on Saturday. This is an extreme crop even at 800mm.

flicker_1024.thumb.jpg.a3f0df3529a2af3cbf9262af7c14ff47.jpg

Olympus EM1 II camera with Panasonic-Leica 100-400mm lens @ 400mm (800mm in 35mm). 1/1600s f/6.3 ISO 1600

Edited by Mary Doo
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I think that's a downy woodpecker, not a flicker. Still, nice shot.

You are right. A flicker would have some red color. Funny I automatically assumed it was a flicker without giving it much thought as experienced birders in the group said it was. But the truth is everyone was staring at a faraway monochromatic silhouette

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I think that's a downy woodpecker, not a flicker. Still, nice shot.

Flicker flicked at a distant tree as I trekked with a bird-watching group on Saturday. This is an extreme crop even at 800mm.

 

The larger bill size actually suggests a Hairy Woodpecker rather than Downy. Maybe that's splitting "feathers" as they are very similar otherwise

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The larger bill size actually suggests a Hairy Woodpecker rather than Downy. Maybe that's splitting "feathers" as they are very similar otherwise

Hi Mary, was your image captured in the New England area (North-East US)? That may also help us narrow down the type of woodpecker this one may be.

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The larger bill size actually suggests a Hairy Woodpecker rather than Downy. Maybe that's splitting "feathers" as they are very similar otherwise

It certainly looks like a female hairy woodpecker due the longer beak. I also wish to correct my statement in a prior post that a flicker would have color and a downy doesn't, as the male downy does have red plumage. I should know, I see downy woodpeckers in my backyard. :oops:

 

Male Downy Woodpecker at backyard

MaleDowny.jpg.22552c5a903f9e1de69b8b50ed279062.jpg

Edited by Mary Doo
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Hi Mary, was your image captured in the New England area (North-East US)? That may also help us narrow down the type of woodpecker this one may be.

 

Both Downy and Hairy woodpeckers are common across most of the country - Downy is more common. Bill looks a little more like a Hairy. Would have been hard to tell from the distance you were at, but I can always tell by the size as the Hairy is significantly larger - 30-40% larger. My common woodpeckers in Wisconsin are Downy (medium), Hairy (medium large), Red-bellied (medium large), Flicker (large), Pileated (very large). For me, recognizing size is best way to differentiate Downy from Hairy or Red-bellied from Flicker.

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Yeah, I checked Cornell University's web site. Downy and Hairy woodpeckers look very similar. It is hard to tell them apart based on just one image that was captured from afar.

The more I look at it, the more I am convinced it's a female Hairy Woodpecker. It was a teeny sillouette when we spotted it from quite a distance. Then it flew away. Thanks everyone - I seriously need to go to a birding class now.

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It's definitely a Hairy Woodpecker. True there is a size difference between hairy and Downy, but size is notoriously difficult to judge in the field. It is much easier to judge the ratio between bill length and total head length [tip of bill to nape]. A crude measurement of this ratio on Mary Doo's Hairy Woodpecker suggests bill is about 33% of head length. And her Downy, 25%. With a bit of practice it becomes quite easy to distinguish them in the field.
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