Description

The sight of a female Downy Woodpecker suddenly and soundlessly popping up on the apple tree in the backyard in the early evening hours of July 2, 2014, was completely unexpected and quite hilarious. I had the 500mm lens with me, because my intended subjects for the evening (hummingbirds) weren’t supposed to be closeups! (But no one told Mrs. D. that). So, putting the irony of the situation aside, I backed off from the twelve inches between us to shoot some footage of her that wasn’t completely blurred. A few moments later, undaunted by the barrel of a super telephoto lens projected at her, she flew even closer … onto the half-depleted suet feeder … reducing the space between us to about six inches. Having secured my shots of her, I backed off and gave her 3-4 feet of breathing room, content to just watch her feed.

Category

Week 4: Woodpeckers

Species

• Downy Woodpecker

Tags

• Bird
• Wildlife
• animal
• woodpecker
• downy woodpecker