Ladder Backed Woodpecker
One of the joys of gardening is attracting birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and other beautiful things to the yard. They like the plants, and really appreciate it if you add some water year around and another source of food, especially in the winter.
This male ladder backed woodpecker stopped in for a last snack before bedtime late in the day back in February.
Male ladder backed woodpecker
Male ladder backed woodpecker
Great photos! This may be another interesting difference between the heights and the valley, or at least your place and ours. I commonly see downy woodpeckers (a similar species with an solid white chest, white on the back and speckled wings) on our property and in the bosque, but I don’t recall seeing a ladder backed woodpecker down here. We never see the ruby throated hummingbirds down here, and I know you get them as well.
That’s interesting. I have never seen a downy woodpecker here (yet, anyway).
The black-chinned hummers are indeed our most common here, from first to arrive to last to leave, and then the others seem to be migrants at various times of the summer. (I have never seen a ruby throated, although there are reports of them here in NM; they *tend* to be found west of the Mississippi; the black-chinned, however, appear to have ruby throats. 🙂 )))) Funny how birds and plants get named 🙂 )
I wish I would get some downy woodpeckers!
Maybe not a true ruby throated hummer, but one’s with red throats. We only get the one’s with black chins.
OK, now I understand. Yes, especially from mid-summer on. There are the rufous guys, an occ calliope, as well as some others. I would have thought that all of those were down on the river, but I guess I am more fortunate up here than I thought. Thanks for clarifying that!
You get some hummers with red throats that we don’t get.
Thanks for the clarification!