I got a nice "little" surprise just the other day when I looked out my window and caught this little Downy Woodpecker hanging around!
I usually only put safflower seeds in my bird feeders because most birds that I'd rather not encourage to hang around don't like it. I'm happy to see that Downy Woodpeckers do like it though.
I have to tell you that this particular day was cloudy and rainy. I had to take my photos through a storm window because I could not get it open and with the rain coming down that was probably for the best. At one point the sky got so dark and the rain poured down even more. Luckily, that onslaught of heavy rain did not last long.
The Downy Woodpecker is a smaller woodpecker and can be up to seven inches in length. It has a small beak compared to some other Woodpeckers. They also have spots on their white tail feathers. The male has some red feathers on his head and the female does not.
You know what was even more exciting?! He didn't come alone! He bought a girlfriend with him! It was awesome to see a male and female Downy Woodpecker show up together! I wondered if they were a mated pair and they very well could have been. Downy Woodpeckers are monogamous and can stay together for years. Here is the female Downy Woodpecker having some safflower seeds with some Finches.
I'll be showing more photos of the Finches in a later post. I also have some other photos of these adorable "little" Feathered Friends but I wanted to show this post with them at the new yellow feeder. The new yellow feeder isn't working out so great in that the Finches like to knock too much seed out along with the wind. I'll be going to the store soon to pick out some other feeders that may work out better here.
It's been about three days now and I haven't seen the cute Downy Woodpeckers since so I'm extremely grateful that I got to see them when I did and get a few photos of them. For now, I'll leave you with this last photo of the female Downy Woodpecker that made me laugh. Hope it gives you a "little" laugh as well! 馃挅
Thank you 
All photos and text by me 