This week in the woods, we found occasional mixed winter flocks of titmice, chickadees, and nuthatches, as well as this male hairy woodpecker, which was busily harvesting soft-bodied somethings (presumably larvae) from beneath the bark of a small tree. Hairy woodpeckers and downy woodpeckers look very similar, but a key way to tell the difference is that hairies have much longer bills. They’re also significantly bigger, and (though this can be hard to discern) their outer tail feathers are white – not checked, like downies’ outer tail feathers. As Mary Holland observed in this post from her Naturally Curious blog, the two species have different winter feeding opportunities. Hairies can drill deeper into wood to find prey, while downies are light-bodied enough to perch on the stalks of goldenrods, where they often peck apart goldenrod gall balls in order to eat the grubs within.
Every year around this time, we find young eagles feeding on carcasses on the ice of the Ompompanoosuc River. This rogues’ gallery shows three birds that, at first glance, would be easy to mistake for different species. However, they’re all bald eagles in their immature phase – a 4-to 5-year period in which the birds’ colors are haphazardly checkered, their feathers are a mess, and they often have the confused demeanor of someone who just woke up on a friend’s couch and isn’t sure how they got there. As noted in this Outside Story essay, bald eagle maturation is a slow and awkward process – with a lot of wandering around, complicated interactions with adults, and even false nest building.
What have you noticed in the woods this week? Submit a recent photo for possible inclusion in our monthly online Reader Photo Gallery.