Common Nature

A cool, drizzly day today. Everyone hit the feeders pretty heavily, as that was their best chance of getting a meal on a day like this, especially if they didn't want to be out for hours in the rain.


Baby Downy Woodpecker (right), just out of the nest for a day or two, explores the back yard with his dad. The juvenile is a male - you can tell by the red crest growing in. Interestingly, while you see the red flash on the back of the adult's head, the red feathers actually grow on top, as you see here. As he grows and his display feathers get longer, they sweep back, and black feathers sweep backward to cover them.

( Chipmunk and more birds behind the cut )